Councillor Michael Wyatt has written to the housing minister urging action from the Government to help bring back into use one million empty properties.

The aim is to help to reduce the need to build more homes on open countryside - and reduce the negative impact empty properties have on neighbourhoods.

Cllr Wyatt - Deputy Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council - said: "Empty properties can impact negatively on a local community. North West Leicestershire has over 100 long-term properties that could potentially help address our growing housing crisis.

"Up and down the UK there are over one million empty properties. What we need is for the Government to make long-term empty properties a national priority so we can work together to bring them back into use.

"Only recently, I put forward in the budget extra resources to help tackle empty properties in North West Leicestershire - which I believe is a step in the right direction.

"But the Government needs to take the lead by cutting red tape, providing additional funding and allowing local council to take proactive action to tackle this issue head-on."