SOMERSET councils could soon charge double the level of Council Tax on empty properties in a bid to bring thousands of them back into use.

Statistics provided by the county’s five district and borough councils indicate that there are more than 4,500 empty homes across the county – of which over 1,000 have been vacant for two years or more.

Local authorities can currently charge a 50 per cent premium on the Council Tax of any ‘long-term empty’ (LTE) home – one which has been empty for six months or more.

A bill is currently going through the House of Commons which would see the so-called ‘empty homes premium’ increased to 100 per cent for homes empty for two years or more.

The number of empty homes in England has fallen from 300,000 in 2010 to just over 200,000 in 2018, according to the Government.

Councils were given powers in 2013 to charge a 50 per cent premium on Council Tax bills for LTE homes, to encourage their owners to bring them back into use.

An estimated 4,798 homes in the county are currently empty. Of these, 1,088 have been for two years or more and would be eligible for the new higher premium if it becomes law.

In West Somerset, the number of empty homes was 428 at the start of this month, with 80 of these being empty for two years or more.

In Taunton Deane, there were 1,158 empty homes, with 110 being vacant for two years or longer.

The two councils share a dedicated empty homes co-ordinator, who offers advice and support to owners and targets different parishes each week to get an accurate picture of the number of homes which are or soon will be empty.