Government commitment to new homes is ‘too little too late’

-06/12/05

Christian homel


Government commitment to new homes is ‘too little too late’

-06/12/05

Christian homelessness charity Housing Justice has said that new government plans will do little for tens of thousands of households who currently live in temporary accommodation.

Their comments come after the governmentís response to the Barker Review, published yesterday (Monday), which pledged to increase housing supply by 50,000 new homes a year and make the construction of new social housing a priority.

The Barker Review of Housing Supply was published in March 2004 and set out a strategy to meet existing and new demand for housing.

It conservatively recommended that between 70 and 120,000 extra private sector homes should be built each year and up to 23,000 additional new social homes a year to meet demand.

Christian homelessness charity Housing Justice welcomed the new homes, reforms to the planning system and emphasis on building sustainable communities that Chancellor Gordon Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott proposed in their response to the review.

Director of External Affairs at Housing Justice, Alison Gelder, commented ìWe welcome the governmentís commitment to increase housing supply and recognition that building sustainable communities means more than just housing. It is vitally important that facilities such as churches and community resources are not overlooked.î

But she also gave a warning: ìWhile we welcome the attention the government has paid to the environmental and water supply considerations, we urge the government to take seriously the need to develop economic and social infrastructure alongside sustainable housingî she said.

ìWe feel that the governmentís plans will do little for the 100,000 households currently living in temporary accommodation. What homeless families require is permanent council or housing association accommodation. The governmentís emphasis on home ownership and the time scale for new social housing construction will mean that it is likely to be 2008 at the earliest before we see significant numbers of new social homes. Barker set out what was required to meet current demand for housing, we fear that the delay in building new social housing will make the problem far worse.î

Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action to prevent homelessness and bad housing. It was formed in April 2003 through the merger of two long-standing housing charities – the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) and the Churches National Housing Coalition (CNHC).


Government commitment to new homes is ‘too little too late’

-06/12/05

Christian homelessness charity Housing Justice has said that new government plans will do little for tens of thousands of households who currently live in temporary accommodation.

Their comments come after the government’s response to the Barker Review, published yesterday (Monday), which pledged to increase housing supply by 50,000 new homes a year and make the construction of new social housing a priority.

The Barker Review of Housing Supply was published in March 2004 and set out a strategy to meet existing and new demand for housing.

It conservatively recommended that between 70 and 120,000 extra private sector homes should be built each year and up to 23,000 additional new social homes a year to meet demand.

Christian homelessness charity Housing Justice welcomed the new homes, reforms to the planning system and emphasis on building sustainable communities that Chancellor Gordon Brown and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott proposed in their response to the review.

Director of External Affairs at Housing Justice, Alison Gelder, commented ‘We welcome the government’s commitment to increase housing supply and recognition that building sustainable communities means more than just housing. It is vitally important that facilities such as churches and community resources are not overlooked.’

But she also gave a warning: ‘While we welcome the attention the government has paid to the environmental and water supply considerations, we urge the government to take seriously the need to develop economic and social infrastructure alongside sustainable housing’ she said.

‘We feel that the government’s plans will do little for the 100,000 households currently living in temporary accommodation. What homeless families require is permanent council or housing association accommodation. The government’s emphasis on home ownership and the time scale for new social housing construction will mean that it is likely to be 2008 at the earliest before we see significant numbers of new social homes. Barker set out what was required to meet current demand for housing, we fear that the delay in building new social housing will make the problem far worse.’

Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action to prevent homelessness and bad housing. It was formed in April 2003 through the merger of two long-standing housing charities – the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) and the Churches National Housing Coalition (CNHC).