Thousands of homes left empty in Sheffield, new study reveals

Sheffield was one of three Yorkshire cities listed among a total of 10 across the UK with the highest number of vacant properties. 

The study, which explored cities and regions across the UK to highlight problem areas, also found that Yorkshire has the third highest number of empty homes, with an astonishing 73,728.

Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford all feature within the top 10 cities, with Sheffield having 6,209 vacant homes, followed by Bradford with 8,751 and Leeds with 10,623. 

These alone account for four per cent of all vacant homes in England.

In total, the number of empty homes across Yorkshire and The Humber account for 12 per cent of all vacant homes in the country.

And, of all those empty properties in the same region, 37 per cent are vacant for longer than six months.

The data also reveals other cities which have a high number of vacant homes, with Liverpool having the highest with 10,512.

Birmingham ranks second with 10,386, followed by Leeds with 10,263, Durham with 10,026 and Bradford with 8,751 empty properties.

Ben Keegan, is Chief Executive of Roundabout, a youth homeless charity in Sheffield based near London Road, who provide shelter, support and life skills to young people aged 16-24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

He said: 'It's a disgrace that so many homes in our city are left empty. In the past, we've appealed to landlords to help them turn these properties around so that they're fit for living, but we've been unsuccessful.

'With Sheffield City Council's help, we've started to run a programme called Future Builders, funded by the OVO Foundation. Young people with a housing need work alongside contractors to help renovate empty houses, which they will then live in.

'Not only are they helping to reduce the amount of empty homes in our city, but they are building in confidence, experiencing working in a professional environment and learning skills in construction to help them gain employment or an apprenticeship.'

To find out more about the number of empty properties in various cities and how this has changed over time, take a look at Good Move's study here.