'Yorkshire receives funding for share of new social and affordable homes - but is it enough' - Reader's letter
Richard Greenwood, the director of operations for EN:Procure, the procurement arm of social hosing consortium Efficiency North, talks about plans for new council housing
This week, the government announced funding for more than 70,000 new social and affordable homes, with Yorkshire set to get an estimated £690m to deliver 4,000 homes in West Yorkshire and 2,200 homes in South Yorkshire.
Forming part of the wider 10-year plan for the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made his position on housing clear in his first few weeks in power – but will Yorkshire families finally get the homes they need?
I am slightly frustrated by the lack of announcement within the announcement, however the details of the grants to the individual strategic partners give a clearer picture that the starting gun might have eventually been fired for the new build affordable homes programme that the government promised some time ago.
For Yorkshire and the wider North of England, the announcement is hugely positive and reflects the mounting need for social and affordable homes across the region – tens of thousands per year, and counting, to meet demand. I welcome the commitment of targeted funding at this scale as it demonstrates recognition that regional housing providers, local authorities and combined authorities have a critical role to play in addressing the housing shortage and creating long-term social and economic benefits for local communities.
The focus now needs to shift towards delivery, as has been the case for a while. S
Strategic funding allocations are an important first step, but the real measure of success will be the number of high-quality, affordable homes that are completed and occupied over the next few years.
Good intentions from central government are great but until we’ve got people out of temporary housing and into proper homes, the job won’t be done.