Proposed by: Councillor Bob Purser
Seconded by: Councillor Wendy Randall
This council’s Corporate Plan states we have “the ambition for our residents to live in good housing in places which are clean and green. So that everyone has access to affordable, safe, quality, accommodation, and security of tenure”
A target was set of to produce 500 units of social housing during the lifetime of this Council. Current house building is not meeting the needs of those on our housing list. Developers repeatedly negotiate a reduction in social and affordable housing targets from the Council’s policy, meaning the social housing target will likely be missed.
This council notes:
· there are currently 4,452 families on our housing register waiting list and a further 600 households currently in temporary accommodation, according to the latest Cabinet papers
· There are 1,950 homeless households and 5,850 households in overcrowded accommodation according to the Anti-poverty Strategy.
· Significant key brown field social housing projects, namely The Clock House and Avenue Campus, have recently been deemed not financially viable and significant funds have been returned to HM Treasury
· Around 4,000 homes across West Northamptonshire lie empty and unused, according to the latest data
The personal cost of living in overcrowded or temporary accommodation to family life is significant, including stress, depression, and child underdevelopment.
This council therefore calls on the Leader and Cabinet to:
· Request the Cabinet Members for Housing, Finance, and Planning to redouble their efforts to identify the requirements needed to create a pipeline for planned, affordable and deliverable housing
· Identify those houses that are unoccupied and explore what opportunities there are to work with owners to bring them back into use
· Consider using Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) powers granted by the Housing Act 2004 to take control of unoccupied properties and make them available for those in need of housing
Minutes:
Councillor Purser proposed and Councillor Randall seconded:
“This council’s Corporate Plan states we have “the ambition for our residents to live in good housing in places which are clean and green. So that everyone has access to affordable, safe, quality, accommodation, and security of tenure.”
A target was set of to produce 500 units of social housing during the lifetime of this Council. Current house building is not meeting the needs of those on our housing list. Developers repeatedly negotiate a reduction in social and affordable housing targets from the Council’s policy, meaning the social housing target will likely be missed.
This council notes:
· There are currently 4,452 families on our housing register waiting list and a further 600 households currently in temporary accommodation, according to the latest Cabinet papers
· There are 1,950 homeless households and 5,850 households in overcrowded accommodation according to the Anti-poverty Strategy.
· Significant key brown field social housing projects, namely The Clock House and Avenue Campus, have recently been deemed not financially viable and significant funds have been returned to HM Treasury
· Around 4,000 homes across West Northamptonshire lie empty and unused, according to the latest data
The personal cost of living in overcrowded or temporary accommodation to family life is significant, including stress, depression, and child underdevelopment.
This council therefore calls on the Leader and Cabinet to:
· Request the Cabinet Members for Housing, Finance, and Planning to redouble their efforts to identify the requirements needed to create a pipeline for planned, affordable and deliverable housing
· Identify those houses that are unoccupied and explore what opportunities there are to work with owners to bring them back into use.
· Consider using Empty Dwelling Management Order (EDMO) powers granted by the Housing Act 2004 to take control of unoccupied properties and make them available for those in need of housing
Council debated the motion and the following comments were made:
· It was essential for developers to provide the necessary infrastructure when constructing large housing developments.
· Northampton Borough Council built 8 homes in 20 years under administrations ran by different parties; WNC have built many more since its creation.
· Figures showed that there were around 4,000 empty homes in the West Northants area and the DLUC website showed that 50% of these were council tax exempt homes; the Council could not act against those.
· It was suggested that the Council’s actions did not match its vision. NPH should be empowered to build more.
· It was suggested that the Council not comparing itself to other similar authorities was akin to checking its own homework.
· The Council’s own planning officers needed to be challenging viability assessments in every instance.
· Health and Wellbeing was one of the Council’s priorities, but it was not looking after vulnerable people. Central government needed to change and provide much more support to local authorities.
· If a home was empty and eligible for use by the Council, it should be brought into use.
· Homes in Northampton were cheaper than the surrounding areas; some Members did not accept that mortgages were unaffordable for the majority of people with the help available.
· 20% developer profit was less of a problem than overpaying for land in the first instance, which was then paid for by the reduction of affordable housing provision later on.
· A viable plan to deliver affordable social housing was being worked on. Between various housing associations and NPH, 1,054 homes had been built across West Northamptonshire. The Local plan would be supported by the Housing Strategy and many of the issues raised could be addressed through these.
· It was felt that the Council had not pursued the options available to it to alleviate the housing shortage. Other councils were having success bringing empty homes back into use; Leicester City Council bought 197 empty homes between April 2022 and March 2023 and brought them back into use.
Upon a vote, the motion fell.