WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter
Housing for Locals
Dear HIP
No matter how many new houses are built or where they are situated, this will do nothing to alleviate the local housing shortage unless some means can be found to ensure that they are reserved for occupation by local people. Otherwise most of them will simply be snapped up by Londoners offering prices way beyond the ability of local people to match, leaving just as many homeless as before.
The obvious way to achieve this of course would be for the new developments to be Council owned, but I have the impression that the Council is simply not in a position to finance such projects at the moment. Some other way must be found.
And don’t be fooled by developers’ promises to provide a quota of ‘affordable’ or ‘social’ housing. Don’t forget the scandal of the Station Plaza complex in 2016 when the developer John Laing promised 103 new homes of which 30% would be ‘affordable’. Then, having bagged planning permission on that basis, they weaseled out of that promise claiming it had suddenly become “uneconomic” to abide by it – and the Council let them get away with it.
Peter Bolwell
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Much love to Peter here, it’s an obvious solution, but council ownership would be a fantastic oppertunity for consistent income to the council as well as ensuring housing is being used (kind of the point of housing I thought!?).