MORE than 2,000 homes are being left standing empty in Swindon, new figures show.

And one in 10 of them is owned by the borough council.

The town has seen a significant rise in the number of empty homes over the past decade, according to government figures analysed for the Swindon Advertiser.

In 2008, there were just 1,714 empty homes in the town. But when the latest snapshot was taken in October last year, there were 2,077 empty homes.

They include 10 homes on an award-winning Walcot development left vacant for more than a year. The council says the Seymour Road homes will soon be put on the market as affordable homes.

Frank Tomkins, a professional housing developer from Grange Park, said: “It’s ridiculous. There’s a lot of people around the Swindon area that need the houses. For social housing they’re fantastic.

"There’s a notice on one window say that police are aware of problems with anti-social behaviour. For me, it’s disappointing they are still empty.”

The houses were finished last spring as part of the redevelopment of Sussex Place. The 10 terraced homes had been due to be sold on the open market, but a decision was made to sell them as part-ownership affordable homes.

Legal delays meant they have been empty, resulting in break-ins and anti-social behaviour.

Neighbour Divino Almeida, 45, said: “My son is scared to go to that side of the street. They’ve seen activity going on over there at night.”

Stacey Slade, 27, of Seymour Road, said that the council had clamped down on the vandalism.

She said: “All the sheds were unlocked. People were going in and out of there. But they’ve fixed locks and hopefully it will have sorted it out now.”

Coun Cathy Martyn, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Bringing empty homes back into use has always been a priority and we are committed to making sure the homes in Seymour Road are available as soon as possible.

“I have just given my support for the employment of an additional 12 staff, including apprentices, in the various trades to ensure we bring our empty homes back into use as quickly as we can.

“As for Seymour Road, the homes were originally to be sold on the open market but the success of the Sussex Place regeneration scheme means they will now be sold as affordable properties. This has been a long and complicated legal process but we are pleased to say that we will be identifying people from our Home Buy waiting list for these homes within the next few weeks.

“Maintenance teams have been on site to cut the grass and secure the properties.

“As a council, we're committed to providing affordable housing, with almost 200 being bought or built by the local authority over the last five years. We have recently completed 14 homes at the former Royal British Legion site in Penhill and are well on the way to delivering a further 33 units on two further schemes.”