Credit crunch - 1,000 affordable city homes could be lost
10 May 2008
Brighton's Green councillors are calling on Tory-led Brighton and Hove City Council to hold a summit on the housing impact of the credit crunch with the city's major housing associations.
“It’s a matter of urgency," said Green housing spokesperson, Cllr Bill Randall (pictured left).
"We fear that many of the large schemes, like the King Alfred, the Marina and the Preston Barracks developments, could be crunched as funding dries up.
"As a result more than 1,000 affordable homes could be lost to the city,” Bill explained.
Nationally, only two of the seven major banks and building societies that help fund social housing are making new loans to housing associations.
Private funding foots about 50 per cent of the bill for all new housing association homes, with government grants making up the balance.
“While the housing associations working in Brighton and Hove have funding in place to support their work for the next two or three years, there's no guarantee they will be able to find new funding for future work.
"Planning new housing programmes will be extremely difficult and the number of new affordable homes built is likely to drop,” Bill warned.
“All this could lead to a deepening housing crisis in the city, where more than 7,000 households already have their names on the council’s waiting .
"Many people are forced to endure over-crowded and poor housing conditions.
“A summit could, at least, lead the way to a realistic appraisal of the future for affordable housing in the city and look at ways in others way of supporting housing associations, whose work is so important to the welfare of the city.
"At the moment, we do not have clear picture of what could be a disaster for homeless and poorly housed people in Brighton and Hove,” Bill explained.
Notes to editors:
Media: for more information please contact Lizzie Deane Green Party External Communications Coordinator on 07931 231390.[ENDS]
