Peter Black offers affordable housing solution (Clwyd West Liberal Democrats)

Peter Black offers affordable housing solution

September 14, 2008 12:00 AM
Originally published by Welsh Liberal Democrats

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, is launching a new paper looking at solutions to the desperate housing situation across Wales. He is recommending much needed changes to curb the ever-growing number of people on housing waiting lists in Wales.

Increasing house prices and the halving of council housing stock since the 1980s has left a total of 87,000 households in Wales waiting for affordable housing. With the Labour/Plaid government failing on their promise to build 6,500 new homes by 2011, Peter Black will set out a series of solutions to the Government's mess.

The main recommendations of Peter Black's paper are that the Assembly Government's HomeBuy scheme be reinstated so that those in need of help buying a home are able to share the cost of purchase through a Housing Association mortgage covering a percentage of the cost of a property. He also calls for a key workers scheme to be introduced to help people on low incomes and those working in the public sector carrying out vital jobs get onto the housing ladder and that empty properties be brought back into use by local authorities and housing associations.

Peter Black said:

"The affordable housing situation in Wales is desperate. The government needs to do something quickly if they are to get more people off the long waiting list and in to affordable homes.

"My paper, "Under One Roof" looks at the affordable housing situation across Wales and sets out some ideas as to how we could get moreaffordable homes in place so as to curb the number of households on the waiting lists. A lot of the tools needed to deal with this problem arein the hands of UK Ministers but the Welsh Government needs to avoid being distracted by their own unattainable targets and look to do much more to assist."

"The recommendation for the HomeBuy scheme to be reinstated with its own separate budget and guidance would enable many households, in rural and urban areas, to buy their own house with help from government grants to local authorities. The scheme should also target people on low wages and those working in the public sector carrying out vital services.

"What I find incredible is that in all local authorities across Wales there are unoccupied houses suitable for many families on the waitinglist. The paper suggests that empty houses be brought back into use with a fully funded Wales-wide empty homes strategy including assistingcouncils and housing associations to borrow money to buy up empty new homes for social housing.

"It is the good work by housing and planning departments that has meant that there are now planning policies in place in every single localauthority in Wales to use private sector investment to provide affordable homes. However, many local authorities have failed to graspthe possibilities offered by tools such as S106 agreements and equity mortgages to meet the demand for affordable housing. Every new housing development in Wales should have imposed on it a minimum percentage number of affordable homes.

"I believe that the Assembly Government is unlikely to reach its target of 6,500 affordable homes by 2011. If present trends continue then 16,400 properties will be sold under the Right to Buy scheme between 2007 and 2011 and a further 2,500 will be demolished. This means that in reality to increase affordable home provision by 6,500 then 25,400 properties will have to be built, just over 1,000 per planning authority.

"It must not be forgotten that at the heart of this issue is not money, but individuals and families who need homes. All too often politiciansfind it too easy to talk about figures, forgetting that behind each statistic is a person looking for a high quality, secure and comfortable home."

Mr. Black's paper will form the background to Welsh Liberal Democrat policy to be debated next Spring.

Ends

Clwyd West Liberal Democrats