BOSSES at the North-East’s biggest council want to buy up long-term empty homes in an effort to kick-start regeneration of rundown villages.

Economic development chiefs at Durham County Council are looking into buying up to 120 homes to prevent communities across the county crumbling and families being deterred from moving in.

Under the Empty Homes Cluster Programme, the council would lease the properties to recognised housing providers, who would rent them out – giving a slice of the cash back to County Hall.

Cabinet member Eddie Tomlinson said the programme would provide much needed affordable housing and help rejuvenate communities.

Last year, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) invited councils to bid for a share of £60m for such programmes.

Durham was one of 20 successful bidders, landing £2.12m, which it will match from its own coffers.

The Labour-led authority aims to bring 120 empty homes back into use by April 2015.

Renovation costs, which could total around £1.8m, will be met by the housing providers.

Council chiefs are looking at buying 40 homes in Easington Colliery, 55 across Eldon Lane, Coundon Grange, Coundon, Dean Bank and Chilton and 25 in Craghead and South Moor.

All have been empty for at least six months and are in villages where at least one in ten houses stands empty.

If the scheme goes well, it could be expanded further.

Coun Tomlinson, the council’s newly appointed cabinet member for housing and rural issues, said: “Properties that stand empty for long periods of time often start to deteriorate.

“This obviously reduces the chances of them being occupied in the future and can have a negative impact on the look and feel of the local area.

“The Empty Homes Cluster Programme offers a new way of bringing these long-term empty homes back into use, providing much needed affordable housing and helping rejuvenate communities.”

Coun Mark Wilkes, the Liberal Democrat shadow member for regeneration, said one of the Coalition Government’s key targets had been to bring empty homes back into use and he would urge the council and the Government to provide further funding.

The cabinet will debate the matter at Durham’s County Hall on Wednesday (June 5).