| Catching up on last week's blog, I saw the piece Guy had written about the house up at Gunnersbury Park which has lain empty for a hell of a time. Guy said the Director of Housing had said that bringing the property back into use -'was not viable' - what he didn't seem to have then gone on to ask was 'Why'? As someone who has been chasing several empty council properties where I live, both of which have stood vacant, one for a year, another for over that time, and given the pressure on council housing, and indeed housing in general, then what is the reason for allowing any properties to stand empty? The council also have powers to take into their ownership private properties that have been abandoned, or, where an owner cannot be found, for whatever reason, so why the hell aren't they doing this? There are so many empty properties and so many people who would like a decent roof over their head, everyone should be using every means possible to bring these dwellings back into use. It is immoral that this is allowed to go on year after year, while those in authority just sit back wringing their hands. So, WHY? would seem a reasonable question. |