HOUSE builders insist there is still a need for new homes - despite a report highlighting the number of empty properties.

Figures compiled by the Empty Homes Agency showed there were about 45,000 homes standing empty in County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Cleveland, with another 13,000 in North Yorkshire.

The Northern Echo reported on Monday how the agency was calling for greater efforts to bring some of these properties into use as an alternative to building new homes.

But the House Builders Fed-eration said that new developments were the only way to solve the North-East's housing problems. Jim Johnsone, the federation's regional planner for the North-East, said the region did need to look at ways of ensuring town centres did not become deserted.

But he said the North-East was under-provided with low-er-density detached homes, which pushed up the prices of those which do exist.

He said: "The housing stock we have got reflects the patterns of the past, but we need to have a stock which reflects the needs and aspirations of the region. We need to build low-density and better quality homes, to ensure a better choice and cater for modern requirements."

He said that some homes in urban areas could be brought back into use, but for others the only solution may be to demolish them and redevelop the land.