FIGURES have shown the council could be paying almost £1.2m in business rates for empty commercial premises it owns.

A Freedom of Information Request has revealed the total number of unused properties around the town which are liable for the rates.

There are £17.5m worth of rateable properties around the town which are not currently in use, but the majority are owned by private operators.

If a property is empty, it is only exempt from business rates for three months before business rates must be paid. Local authorities are liable for this payment for council properties as it goes direct to central government.

Swindon Council has several dozen properties on the list, some which have a rateable value of several hundred thousand pounds.

Many of the properties are individual shops around the town centre which have recently closed.

Among them is the former Liquor Lounge unit, which has been empty since it closed at the end of January. The council will pay £70,000 over 15 months if it remains empty.

Some of the former children’s centres, such as Saltway, remain empty since they were closed last year, so rates are still being paid on them.

Coun Garry Perkins (Con, Haydon Wick), the cabinet member responsible for the economy, says regeneration is the best way to deal with the empty premises.

“The way to deal with this is by redeveloping the area so new businesses come to Swindon,” said Coun Perkins.

“As we all know, things have been very bad over recent years and more businesses have been closing rather than opening.

“But every agent I have spoken with has told me we are around this corner now and things are on the up.

“With developments like Regent Circus and Kimmerfield, this will attract tenants to the empty units.”

As many of the properties are individual units within a shopping centre it can be hard to find a buyer.

But Coun Perkins says there is a regular turnover of properties within the council’s portfolio.

He said: “There is a regular churn of properties with us buying some and selling some.

“We have many plans for redevelopment so we are often buying up properties which fit in our plans.

“They might be empty for a short period but it is important we have them for when we move forward with our plans.

“There are occasions when tenants want to buy the property from us and, as long as the offer is a fair one, then we will look at it, unless it is part of our development plans.”