No Use Empty Gets Key Top-Up – Council Funding To Boost Initiative To Address Empty Properties

A major scheme to bring empty properties back into use in the area has been given a key boost – following news that Dover District Council’s Cabinet has agreed to another £300K to support ‘top up’ loans under Kent County Council’s No Use Empty initiative.

KCC’s No Use Empty scheme provides property owners with interest-free loans of up to £25K per unit of accommodation to bring empty homes back into use as quality accommodation.  Dover District Council supports the NUE initiative and offers an additional £15K top-up loan, making a total of £40K available per unit locally.

DDC Cabinet has today agreed to supplement its existing commitment to £300K for top up loans under No Use Empty with another £300K, bringing the total additional funding available to £600K.

Up to September 2019, 255 units have been brought back into use in Dover District under No Use Empty, and the initiative has resulted in over £14m investment in the district, nearly £7m of that being private investment.

A range of key success stories supported by NUE in the area includes: three derelict shops in London Road, Dover have been renovated and converted into three houses; a large property in Princes Street, Dover has been converted to 21 new homes; a property in Folkestone Road, Dover has been converted to four new units; and the former Dublin Man of War Public House in River has been converted to three houses with a further five new houses on the site.

Cllr Nicholas Kenton, DDC Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, said: “No one likes to see empty properties, and we are delighted to be able to make more money available for the important work of the No Use Empty Scheme. The initiative has been great news for the district and is having a real impact by providing practical and financial support to bring empty properties back into use.”

Mike Whiting, KCC Cabinet Member for Economic Development said: “Dover is the second of our district partners to make additional funds available which helps take forward those larger empty properties which have been neglected.  The diversity of projects in which No Use Empty is involved shows what can be done with a recycling loan fund, not only in Dover but Countywide with total investment in the region surpassing £60m.”

For more information on the No Use Empty initiative, please see the NUE website.

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