The Empty Homes Agency is an

independent campaigning charity, which

Low Demand Update

exists to highlight the waste of empty
property in England and works with others
to devise and promote sustainable
solutions to bring empty property back
into use.

Visit to Burnley, Colne and Nelson in whilst others simply dismissed it as irrelevant!!
Lancashire Have a look at some of the photos I took and see
for yourself.
At the beginning of the month I spent a very exciting
and interesting day in a rainy and wet Lancashire,
visiting Burnley, Colne and Nelson to look at the
many low demand properties which are cur-
rently under threat of demolition under the Elevate
East Lancs Market Renewal Pathfinder proposals.

I met Sylvia Wilson, who is the Secretary of the

Whitefield Conservation Action Group - click on the
link below for more details of her group and their
submission to the Select Committee on Empty
Homes and Low Demand

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/
cmselect/cmodpm/295/295we41.htm

We had a long chat and discussion on how we can

help her group(s) in their 'battle' against the demoli-
tion of their homes - click on the link below for more
details

http://www.fightforourhomes.com/

The more we talked, the more I found out that there

are literally hundreds of people out there, in Low De-
mand areas, whose homes are being threatened by
demolition and are not being consulted 'properly' by
their respective local Councils and Market Renewal
Pathfinders and need help. This I find find very dis-
appointing to say the least. Sylvia's group
(500+) are subject to a 3 phase demolition pro-
gramme, which was originally a Pendle Borough
Council CPO and now is firmly under the Elevate
East Lancs pater -

http://www.pendle.gov.uk/site/scripts/
documents_info.php?
documentID=216&pageNumber=5

After a long and interesting discussion and a full site

tour, we finally agreed, that I will produce an
'urgent' action strategy for Sylvia to consider and
then look at the ways we can help her group in Nel-
son.

We will then look at how we can bring to-

gether all the other groups from around the coun- EVENTS
try that have contacted her via the Fight for Our
Homes website. LowDemand Housing: Practical Investmentand Imple-
mentationSolutions - 13th&14thSeptember2005-
I gave her several copies of our newly produced Thistle Hotel Manchester
‘Community Support’ leaflet for distribution to groups
who want some initial information from the Empty Register today to network with your peers and exchange
Homes Agency on how we can help them! original ideas and proposals in creating a sustainable HMR Northern Office:
All in all this is what the Low Demand project is all The Empty Homes Agency
about - Helping Communities in areas of Low De- Featuringthe Empty Homes Agency's veryownJ ohn PO Box 3609
Earnshaw! Barnsley
mand - and after meeting with Sylvia yesterday, I'm S75 1WW
sure our project will now go from strength to Phone/Fax: 01226 390 093
strength and will show that someone had the vision Formoredetails visit: www.emptyhomes.com Mobile: 07719 798 033
E: www.emptyhomes.com
to identify this very important need some years ago,