Rural towns dying as owners cling to properties in hopes of better prices - report

The Department of Rural Affairs has also been told that traffic clogging up rural villages and towns, the cost of refurbishing old buildings and negative perceptions of living in these areas have hampered regeneration.

Rural towns and villages are dying because property owners are clinging onto vacant homes in the hope that prices will increase, a Government report has found.

Interim reports produced as part of a pilot initiative of six rural towns has found that many buildings have fallen into disrepair and remain vacant because there are both difficulties identifying owners and in other cases the property holder is refusing to sell.