THE number of homeless households in Basingstoke and Deane has dropped dramatically over the last six years, according to council figures.

In 2007/08, the council accepted that 35 households had nowhere to live, a fall from 87 the year before and 158 in 2002/03.

The reduction was credited to the implementation of a homelessness strategy in 2003 and now Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council's Cabinet has approved a new strategy, placing more emphasis on prevention and tackling issues that can cause the problem, such as domestic violence.

And, with the credit crunch beginning to bite, the council is examining new ways to ensure homeless numbers do not rise as homes are repossessed.

Councillor Cathy Osselton, Cabinet member for housing and health, told The Gazette: "We are now seeing houses being repossessed, but we want to try to keep these people in their homes, so we will be looking at talking to financial people."

She said one possibility could be allowing people in shared-ownership homes to sell a portion back to the housing association, to provide them with access to cash, and paying rent on that portion instead.

The homeless strategy is contained within a package of other measures for housing and benefit, which Cabinet is recommending to October's full council meeting - although Cllr Osselton said the document would continue to evolve as the housing market changed.

Cllr Osselton warned the current housing slowdown could affect affordable housing stock, with the number of affordable homes being built dropping as developers cut back on house building, but housing associations are finding opportunities to buy up cheap new-build properties that developers are unable to sell.

"New-build homes will not meet the need for affordable housing and we are having to look at other options," she added. "We are now looking to see how best to use the private sector and housing benefits."

Labour opponents have criticised the Conservative administration for aiming to bring 16 of the 807 empty homes in the borough back into use this year, when it succeeded in bringing 26 back into use last year.

Cllr Osselton said the figures ignored properties the council stopped from becoming empty in the first place - a further 117 properties.

Individual councillors have been sent lists of empty homes in their wards, so they can work with council officers and residents to bring the properties back into use.