THE number of empty homes in Bracknell and Wokingham has fallen significantly over the past six years.

In 2010, there were 504 vacant dwellings in Bracknell and 439 in Wokingham.

By 2016 that number had fallen to 316 in Bracknell, a 37 per cent drop, and 240 in Wokingham, a 45 per cent drop.

The report, released last night by the BBC Data Unit, includes homes left empty for six months or more and has been hailed by the Government as showing the success of proactive policies.

A spokesperson for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “We have given councils powers to bring empty homes back into use, and the number is now at its lowest since records began and has fallen by a third since 2010.

“The Empty Homes Premium gives authorities the power to charge an additional 50 per cent council tax premium on properties that are empty for more than two years.”

Local authorities can introduce a higher council tax premium for houses empty for over two years and increased council tax payments for owners of empty houses not over the two year threshold.

Helen Williams, from the Empty Homes charity, thought the figures gave less reason for celebration however.

She said: “Local authorities can charge up to a 50 per cent premium on the council tax if a dwelling has been empty for two years or more.

“So this premium is not something that councils can apply to all properties that are recorded as long-term, more than six months empty. The Government vacant dwelling statistics showed around 200,000 long-term empty homes recorded by English local authorities in 2016.

“There is certainly a case for Government reviewing the powers that English local authorities have to charge extra council tax where property owners are not taking action to bring empty homes back into use.

“Only being able to charge up to 50 per cent premium after a property has been vacant for two years or more is clearly not a big enough deterrent to some owners of empty homes, at the same time it is worth bearing in mind that many owners of empty homes want to bring them back into use, and this is why advice from local authority empty homes staff can make a difference between a property being stuck empty and it being brought back to the market for rent or sale.”