Saturday 1 June 2019

What are Peter Jackson’s ‘New Generation’ Council Houses?


In January we heard the boasts of Peter Jackson informing the public that he and his cohorts are planning a ‘New Generation’ of Council Housing for Northumberland and he would be promoting his ‘new plan in March 2019.

The Governments planning policy framework, classifies new  ‘Council owned housing and social housing’  under its descriptive banner of ‘Affordable Homes’ as set out in legislation as follows : Affordable housing

Housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and/or is for essential local workers); and which complies with one or more of the following definitions:

(a) Affordable housing for rent: meets all of the following conditions: (a) the rent is set in accordance with the Government’s rent policy for Social Rent or Affordable Rent, or is at least 20% below local market rents (including service charges where applicable); (b) the landlord is a registered provider, except where it is included as part of a Build to Rent scheme (in which case the landlord need not be a registered provider); and (c) it includes provisions to remain at an affordable price for future eligible households, or for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision. For Build to Rent schemes affordable housing for rent is expected to be the normal form of affordable housing provision (and, in this context, is known as Affordable Private Rent).

As usual with Northumberland Conservatives they must have almost forgotten their promise to deliver a plan. During March 2019 sometime in a break in the lambing and ploughing activities they love so much they managed a quick think and brought forward an embryonic statement to be released in May 2019 that they would develop 1000 Council Houses over the next three years.

Remembering that this comment piece is being written in June 2019 and the elections for a new, closer to the people Council takes place during May 2021 when decision making changes and a new budget will be formed in that year, their commitment, only has 35 months to run, no planning permissions have yet been approved and they have shrunk the company Advance (formerly ARCH) so much that help, like the cavalry isn’t rushing over the hill to save them, the Council whoever is running it from needs to note in their manifesto’s that from this date in time the Council needs to build 28 Council homes per month to achieve its target. Even the UK’s big builders struggle with figures like that, and the utility companies will be pulling their hair out if sites and plans aren’t shovel ready before an announcement for such a big ambitious build scheme is let out to the public, yet Northumberland Conservatives have let it slip.

So the question Councillor Peter Jackson needs to answer is, ‘What is a new generation Council House’? and will they be ‘truly affordable’ for tenants?. Will they be attractive to live in? and will they be a good use of public money?

Its time that Cllr. Ms Georgina Hill brings her investigation into this promise to the Councils Audit Committee, it sounds a bit criminal to us!

Notes



https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/annex-2-glossary

No comments:

Post a Comment

Public Sector Pay Down 20% through ‘Conservative Austerity’ years yet Public Servants are expected to absorb an £81 per month drop in living standards?

  The 1997 introduction of ‘agenda for change’ in the NHS and ‘Single Status’ in Local Government was extremely progressive towards achievin...