Woking Borough Council (WBC) has been awarded £875,000 from the Local Authority Housing Fund (LAHF) to bring long-term empty homes back into use. 

The LAHF provides capital funding directly to local authorities to deliver much needed temporary accommodation by 2026.  

It aims to support councils in addressing the immediate needs of homeless families and Afghan arrivals and in the longer-term, will create a lasting legacy for UK nationals by building up a sustainable stock of affordable housing for local communities. 

LAHF Round 3 funding was announced in March this year with WBC being awarded capital grant funding of £875,775, plus an allocation of £7,825 of revenue funding.  

It is proposed that the council accepts the grant allocation and uses it to refurbish 12 long-term empty properties within the Sheerwater regeneration area that were previously due to be redeveloped. WBC must also identify one four-bedroom property to either acquire or refurbish to comply with grant conditions. 

In order to accept the grant allocation, the council is required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will be considered by the council’s Executive at its meeting on September 12. 

Cllr Ian Johnson said: “This funding from central government will allow us to refurbish empty homes in Sheerwater much quicker than we could without it.    “Council remains committed to transforming Sheerwater but in a way that is affordable to the public purse. Refurbishing some of the homes using the LAHF grant will help to uplift the appearance of the area while ensuring those in need have somewhere decent to live.” 

Upon signing the MOU, WBC will receive the revenue element of the LAHF money in October 2024, and the capital element will be paid in two instalments in April and June 2025. 

The MOU sets out a completion date of March 2026 for the refurbishments.