WITH 3,000 empty homes in Burnley set to be demolished, or revamped, a plea has been made to use some to help homeless families.

The homes across the borough, chiefly in Burn-ley Wood and Daneshouse, remain mothballed, wait-ing to be knocked down, or renovated, by the borough council under East Lancashire’s Elevate programme.

But former borough council candidate John Rowe has questioned why the properties, some of which are still in serviceable condition, could not be used to provide homes for those on Burnley’s emergency housing list.

Mr Rowe was made homeless last year when his Cowper Street property was attacked by arsonists.

He was temporarily relocated to lodgings at the Malt Shovel pub before he found a new home in Tennis Street.

Mr Rowe, who stood for the British National Party in Rosegrove with Lowerhouse, told a housing scrutiny committee that, on past performance, Elevate properties could remain boarded-up for between two and three years.

He said: “I would like to know why it has not been considered that these properties could be put to good use?”

His idea won support from party colleague Coun Len Starr, who said: “It is an interesting thought that he poses.”

But environment director David Brown said the authority had sold off its housing stock to Calico nine years ago and no longer acted as a landlord.

He said: “When we exercise compulsory purchase orders to acquire properties we are doing that in order to redevelop the site.

“If we fill houses which are part of that acquistion with tenants we create potential problems by giving them additional rights and entitlements, which we would have to negotiate when we wanted them out.”