Shelter provides verdict on housing performance
How ironic that on the same day that a letter from Harrogate Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing appeared in the local press castigating Phil Willis MP for his criticism of the Conservative’s record on affordable housing in this borough, the homeless charity Shelter produced figures showing that HBC ranks 16th out of 21 councils in the region for its housing performance and 222nd out of 323 in the country. They delivered only 12% of the affordable housing requirement for the year 2008/09.
This is Shelter’s summary of the Council’s performance:
Independent experts say your area needs to build 830 homes per year. Your council planned for 122 new affordable homes to be provided in your area last year.
This was less than the number of new affordable homes needed.
Despite this, only 100 new affordable homes were delivered on average in each of the last three years, even less than the number planned and less than was needed.
These are not figures that the Conservative administration in Harrogate want people to see. Only a couple of weeks ago the Deputy Leader of the Council arrogantly – and clearly erroneously – claimed “we are the best performing housing authority in the country”!
The fact is that whilst our Council’s housing service has performed well in some areas, there is scant political will from the current Tory administration to provide desperately needed homes for those on low and modest incomes. The Shelter information shows that whilst the average income locally is £22,262, the income needed to buy an average home in the area is £57,065.
About a year ago I challenged our Council to apply for government funding that was on offer to build new Council homes. I was disappointed to receive a patronising and negative response from the Cabinet Member.
The thousands of families on the Council’s waiting list look set to remain in inadequate, unaffordable and overcrowded homes, because a complacent Council administration has made a political decision not to prioritize the provision of affordable homes. And thousands more are unable to live in the area they call home because property prices are simply out of their reach here.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 4 so far )
Claire Kelley's Diary 