Council housebuilding money

The North East is being given almost £450 million to build thousands of new homes, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Daniel Holland.

It is hoped that the cash injection will allow for the building of around 3,400 council, social, and affordable homes across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham and housing secretary Angela Rayner have confirmed our region’s first share of funding under a £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme announced last year.

An estimated £445 million will be spent in the North East mayoral authority area, in what the Government said was the first stage of a 10-year programme that still had more than £16 billion to be allocated outside London.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government called it the “largest expansion of council housing in decades”, as it confirmed an initial £9.6 billion worth of allocations.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness said the announcement was an “important step” towards her own ambitions of delivering 15,000 social and affordable homes over the next decade.

The Labour mayor added:  “Too many North East families are sat on the social housing waiting list, hundreds of children having to live in temporary accommodation, and not enough genuinely affordable homes being built quick enough – today that changes.

“We’ve secured around £445 million for 3,400 houses that will give local families the security of a safe, affordable home and give kids a better start in life than being stuck in temporary accommodation.”

Ms McGuinness and her cabinet recently approved the investment of £143 million secured from the National Housing Delivery Fund to unlock 4,600 new homes by 2030, by providing targeted financial support to problem development sites where building has been blocked as a result of viability challenges, land remediation costs, or a lack of necessary infrastructure. 

She has also set up mayoral development zones in an effort to speed up construction in certain areas, including Sunderland’s riverside and central Newcastle and Gateshead.

A study commissioned by the mayor’s office recently found that almost 43,000 households across the North East are living in unsuitable accommodation. 

More than 16,000 of those are suffering from overcrowding and a further 4,300 are  homeless or living in “concealed” arrangements, such as staying with friends or family.

There is particular concern over the shortage of affordable one-bedroom properties and the pressures placed on rural communities by limited housing supply and second home ownership. 

Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said: “Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe, secure and affordable home. Yet far too many families in need of one are languishing on social housing waiting lists and almost 180,000 children in England are growing up homeless in temporary accommodation.  

“The only way to fix this is to build more social and affordable housing which is why we’re backing local leaders with up to £445 million to support the construction of around 3,400 new social and affordable homes for families in need across the North East”. 

Labour has set a target of building 1.5 million new homes during this Parliament and has also unveiled plans to give regional mayors the power to overrule councils on certain major planning applications.

The Social and Affordable Homes Programme has a target for at least 60% of homes delivered through it to be for social rent.

Mr Burnham said:  “No child should be raised in a hostel room and no family should wait ten years for a front door of their own. I have said from my first day in this job that everything starts with a good home.

“Nearly £10 billion will go to councils and housing associations to build genuinely affordable homes, most of them for social rent, in the places where families are waiting longest.

“Councils built this country out of a housing crisis once before. Backed properly, and trusted to get on with it, they will do it again.”