Pembrokeshire County Council’s cabinet will meet on Monday (January 12) to give consideration to the Local Authority’s Empty Properties Strategic Plan 2025–2030.

At the meeting, a report from Director Social Care, Housing and Public Protection, Gaynor Toft will be presented to members.

The draft Empty Properties Strategic Plan 2025–2030, highlights the strategic shift from a previous Action Plan (2021–2025) submitted to Welsh Government in 2021, and introducing the inclusion of an Enforced Sales Procedure as a formal final intervention tool when circumstances require and criteria are met.

This Strategy applies to properties within the private sector, although it is recognised that sufficient priority and resource is allocated towards dealing with empty properties under the Authority’s housing and corporate asset portfolio.

The report states: “The need to develop this Strategy was a priority that was raised within Pembrokeshire’s Housing Strategy 2024-2029. Long-term, often problematic empty properties are considered a waste of a valuable resource which could be added to the pool of much-needed housing in the County.

“They can also frequently become blights to neighbourhoods by becoming targets for antisocial behaviour, trespass, vandalism and arson. In addition to this they can become eyesores which devalue nearby properties, become sources of harbourage for vermin infestations, and can also become significant drains on the resources of the County Council, Police, and Fire & Rescue Service.

“The Strategy outlines that the Authority’s priority is to work with the owners of empty properties to encourage them to bring their properties back in to use, and to provide information and advice on the assistance schemes available to owners of long-term empty residential properties.

“There is opportunity also to bring empty commercial buildings back into use through conversion into residential or improvement for re-use for non-residential purposes.”

It is recommended that Cabinet endorse the Pembrokeshire Empty Properties Strategic Plan 2025-2030 and Appendix containing the Enforced Sales procedure which will enable a focused corporate approach to dealing with problematic empty properties within the county; to coordinate action in dealing with empty properties in the county and assist in the delivery of the priorities of the Pembrokeshire Housing Strategy 2024-2029.