A. Frustrating, isn’t it? According to the Empty Homes Agency (EHA), an independent charity that exists to bring vacant property back into use, there are more than 840,000 empty or derelict homes in the UK.
While the Government w
ants to build hundreds of thousands of new homes over the next few years, the EHA estimates that bringing just a quarter of the UK’s empty housing stock into use could provide homes for 700,000 people, save 160 square kilometres of land (including some from the green belt) and save 10 million tonnes of CO2 compared to building the same number of new homes.
While councils have powers to bring a vacant property back into use – using something called an Empty Dwelling Management Order – most take a softy softly approach and try to persuade the owner to do something about it.
Sadly, empty houses can quickly fall into disrepair and occasionally set on fire. It must be very annoying being stuck on a council house waiting list when there’s so much empty property about.
So what can you do about it? Thanks to the EHA, quite a lot actually. It’s set up a special website –
www.reportemptyhomes.com – where you can file a report of a boarded up house or vacant property which will then be forwarded on to your local council.
It’s very easy to use. You simply call up the website, enter a street name or postcode near the empty house, and then click where the empty property is located on a map of the area.
Then all you’ve got to do is fill in some more details, upload a digital photo of the property (if you have one) and click on the submit button. Your report will then end up in the inbox of a council officer responsible for vacant property, putting pressure on them to do something about it.
Although the website is fairly new, hundreds of houses have been reported already, and the EHA promises to follow up each report to see what action has been taken.
Q. The pavements near where I live are covered in chewing gum. It looks unsightly, but it’s almost impossible to remove. Any tips?
K. Closer
A. If I knew a cheap and effective way of removing wads of chewing gum from pavements I’d be a very rich woman. According to the Keep Britain Tidy campaign, the annual cleaning bill for keeping our streets gum-free is more than £150 million and even then you’ll be left with an unsightly oily residue in most cases.
Everything from dry ice, toxic chemicals, pressure washers and even lasers has been brought to bear on the problem, but it’s an ongoing battle.
There are more than 26 million gum chewers in the UK, chewing their way through more than three billion packs of gum each year, so you’d have thought the manufacturers would have come up with a chewing gum formula that wouldn’t prove so difficult to remove.
Thomas Adams invented chewing gum in 1869. His gum used the sap from the Mexican chicozapote tree and apart from the use of flavourings was about as natural as you could get, but synthetic substitutes were introduced in the 1950s and our streets have been clogged with gum ever since.
Turning things full circle, Waitrose is about to start selling Chicza Rainforest Gum made from the same chicle resin Adams used. It’s been certified organic and sustainable and has the added benefit of being completely biodegradable and starts to break down almost immediately after use.
Incidentally, if you want to remove chewing gum from clothing, simply pop the garment in a plastic bag and leave in your freezer for two or three hours. Then gently scrape the gum off with a knife. To remove any remaining bits, soak the clothing in white vinegar and wash as normal. It’s a trick I’ve had to use when I’ve inadvertently sat down on a seat covered in gum.
