A councillor says homes should not be built in Stoke-on-Trent's Green Belt when around 3,500 homes in the city are standing empty.

New figures released by Stoke-on-Trent City Council show that there were 3,479 vacant properties in the city in December, with a further 764 homes exempt from council tax as they are currently empty for specific reasons.

Opposition Conservative councillor Dave Evans quizzed cabinet members about the number of empty homes at a full council meeting, arguing that it is not right to build new homes on greenfield sites when so many existing properties are not being used.

The council's draft local plan controversially includes proposals to earmark Green Belt sites for more than 10,000 homes.

Council leaders insist they are taking a 'brownfield first' approach, and that they are planning to boost investment in the authority's empty homes team.

Cllr Evans called on the council to 'commit to not put any Green Belt land in your local plan until every empty house is no longer empty', and questioned whether enough is being done with vacant properties.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for regeneration, insisted the council would be increasing efforts to bring empty homes back into use.

The draft budget for 2026/27 includes a commitment to increase the capacity of the empty homes team in order to double the number of vacant properties being brought back into use to at least 200 a year.

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Cllr Gordon-McCusker said: "This council has recognised that empty homes are a massive problem in this city.

"We've worked with partners to bring many of those back into use. But what we have to realise is that local government has been systematically under-funded by the Conservative Party in Westminster for more than a decade.

"It is this Labour government that's delivering a fairer funding settlement which allows us to invest in things like this."

The council says its approach to empty homes is to engage with owners with the aim of formulating a 'bespoke solution' for each property.

Where cases cannot be resolved through voluntary measures, the council can take enforcement action, ranging from the serving of notices to deal with specific problem, to the use of compulsory purchase orders in 'exceptional circumstances'.

Cllr Gordon-McCusker also said the local plan is currently going through an assessment process. But he insisted the council is prioritising building on brownfield sites.