THE owners of 29 empty properties have been contacted as part of a campaign to crackdown on rogue landlords and vacant houses in Shildon.

The Safe Durham Partnership has acted after residents voiced concerns.

An action plan has been drawn up as a result of the issues raised during the partnership’s week long Not in My Neighbourhood operation.

This resulted in the owners of 29 empty houses off Redworth Road, Shildon, being contacted to ask them about their future plans for the properties.

The Safer Partnership has also secured funding to buy five alarms which can be fitted to vacant houses.

It is hoped that these will help to prevent vandalism and anti-social behaviour at the empty houses while work is carried out by landlords to bring them back into use.

The council is also looking at other ways of dealing with long-term empty homes and absent landlords.

Kelly Atkinson, Durham County Council safer neighbourhood’s officer, said: “The action week gave the team the chance to tackle a wide range of issues.

“The involvement of residents throughout the process is essential in order to ensure that we address the problems that matter most to them.”

During the Not in My Neighbourhood scheme 345 questionnaires were handed out to the public asking them to list their concerns about Shildon.

The Safe Durham Partnership team also held public meetings and community walkabouts during its visit.

The group’s feedback showed that locals had several issues regarding Shildon but that concerns about the town’s empty housing was the most commonly raised.

Councillor Brian Stoker, mayor of Shildon, said: “I support this scheme. We really need some legislation bringing in to clamp down on this type of landlord.

“This problem does not just affect Shildon it’s a problem everywhere. In some cases where there is a lot of privately rented property the crime rate goes up too.”

The Safe Durham Partnership is made up of Durham County Council, Durham Police, Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and social housing landlord livin.