Hampshire councils spent more than £1.25 million on maintaining and renovating empty properties in the last five years, figures have revealed.

New research by the Tax Payers' Alliance shows £1,278,499 was spent on vacant premises by councils in Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, the New Forest and Hampshire. 

Included in the figure was £1,013,232.29 spent by Fareham Borough Council on a property in Southampton Road which sat empty between March 25, 2022, and October 2, 2023. 

In total, the council spent 1,023,615.59 on renovation, maintenance and security fees for its vacant properties. 

In Eastleigh, £234,894.03 was spent on vacant properties throughout 2022 and 2023 including sites in Market Street, Chamberlayne Road, St Johns Road and the Shakespeare Business Centre. 

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A spokesperson for Eastleigh Borough Council said: “As a commercial landlord, we proactively manage our property portfolio to deliver on our corporate strategy.

"It is inevitable that there will be some vacancies in our property portfolio at any given time, due to a range of factors.

"These can include: market conditions, properties held pending redevelopment, businesses’ needs in terms of location, and whether the specification of the property on offer meets the expectations of companies looking to locate or relocate in the Borough.”

New Forest District Council had the next highest outgoings on empty premises, forking out £8,952.73 between 2019 and 2022 for seven sites. 

A spokesperson for NFDC said these are a mix of residential and commercial buildings with some having been re-let and others redeveloped.

Meanwhile, Gosport Borough Council spent £7,683.71 on vacant buildings including Brookers Pavilion, St Georges Chapel and toilets at Nobes Avenue and at the Lee Rec.

In total, Hampshire County Council spent £3,355 though the location of these properties is not known. 

Southampton's figures do not appear in the research. 

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It comes as across the UK, at least 4,908 council-owned non-residential properties were vacant between January 2022 and December 2023. 

The total cost of insuring, securing, maintaining and renovating properties that were empty for one month or longer between January 2022 and December 2023 was at least £88,478,082, the figures show.

The region with the most unoccupied properties between January 2022 and December 2023 was Scotland with 1,044 at a total cost of £11,320,325.

The English region with the most unoccupied properties was the South East with 818 at a total cost of £24,003,054.

Fareham Borough Council has been approached for comment.