TWENTY Bradford properties have been brought back into use by Bradford Council in the year so far as it tries to cut the number of empty homes in the district.

As part of its Empty Homes Action Plan it has issued several compulsory purchase orders to try and recover houses which have become dilapidated.

The latest public notices to be issued include an order for the acquisition of 28 Cunliffe Road in Manningham.

The stone building has broken windows and trees growing in the yard and from the roof which is losing tiles.

No objections were received to the CPO order for the former home and grocery shop and now the Council is set to acquire the property with people entitled to claim compensation able to notify the City Solicitor.

Another CPO published last week revealed that 118 Cecil Avenue, near Horton Park, is to be the subject of a public local inquiry at City Hall on June 19.

The bungalow's front garden is full of weeds and undergrowth while the slates are starting to come loose from the roof.

A house that the Telegraph & Argus has featured in the past, 67 Sandholme Drive, Thorpe Edge, was compulsorily purchased by the Council at the end of last year.

It had been described as an eyesore with rubbish fly-tipped in the garden, hedges overgrown and the house dilapidated.

After the CPO went through the garden was cleaned up and it is now in possession of the Council and being marketed for sale.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: "Once the property is sold the Council will monitor it and as a condition of the sale it is expected that it is renovated and back in use within 12 months.”

In March we reported that there were 7,800 empty properties in the Bradford district – including 4,489 that have been empty for over six months

The Council's efforts to bring some of them back into use have been boosted by rises in Council Tax on empty properties.

The spokesperson added: “The Council is continuing in its action plan to bring empty properties back into use and will be refreshing the plan this year as its current lifespan is 2017-2019.

“Since the beginning of 2019 the Empty Homes Team has brought, directly, 20 problematic properties back into use.

“Changes that were introduced on the 1st April 2019 to increase he Council Tax charged for empty properties that have been empty for longer than two years, have resulted in many more enquiries being received by the team from empty properties owners looking for help and advice on how to bring their properties back into use."