CALLS have been made for Blaenau Gwent council to do more to bring back into use its empty business units.

The county borough council currently has 97 businesses in its industrial portfolio, making up some 538 jobs.

But there are also 37 vacant units in the portfolio of 182, 13 of which are categorised as 'constrained' - meaning they require work before they can be available to let.

A number of 'underperforming' business units were recently sold, raising £497,633.

Out of this money, £44,810 was used to carry out work on 10 'constrained' properties to bring the number down from 23 to 13.

At an environment, regeneration and economic development scrutiny meeting on Thursday, Cllr Wayne Hodgins (Independent, Brynmawr) called for the way the portfolio is managed to be examined.

Cllr Hodgins said there were a number of units which have required repair from as far back as the 1970s and which will escalate in cost to the council unless action is taken.

He said: "I think there's got to be a corporate change.

"All it is at the moment is a plaster for the gaping wound and that wound is getting bigger."

Cllr Hodgins said the council needed to consider "spending to save."

"If we are saying yesterday that the way out of poverty is education, the way for regeneration is about generating employment," he added.

"If we have not got a reasonable portfolio to offer we are failing."

But Richard Crook, the council's corporate director of regeneration and community services, said the authority is managing its portfolio well.

He said: "The majority of our units are let and they are doing quite well.

"We are largely around where we would expect to be in terms of the amount of units let."

Out of 182 units, 145 are currently let, equating to 81 per cent.

Cllr Phil Edwards (Independent, Ebbw Vale North), chairman of the committee, said he was 'disappointed' with the report due to its lack of an update on work to dispose of some of the units.

The committee agreed to discuss the issue with the council's relevant executive member to help find a way forward on the issue.