Councillor Moses Crook has outlined a new plan
A Kirklees councillor has said it is his top priority to build more affordable housing across the district.
Councillor Moses Crook, the Kirklees Council Deputy Leader, and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Transport, made these comments as part of a briefing to the full council. He talked about the state of house building in Kirklees, and said there were serious challenges.
He said: ““Housing in Kirklees presents political and organisation leaders with both challenges to overcome and significant opportunities to take advantage. Housing insecurity undermines opportunity for our residents to thrive, in their families, in work, in leisure, in life in general.”
With the £39 billion plan to invest in social and affordable housing announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in summer, he said there was an opportunity to make sure everyone is able to live securely in their own home. This fund is split between local authorities and devolved institutions.
Coun Crook said it was one of his top priorities to “build more affordable homes for families and workers across the district and crucially to build more social housing for all who need it as a long term plan”.
This means the council’s housing policy will change to “support, protect and prioritise the most vulnerable and to focus on making sure that all of our young people in Kirklees get the best start in life.” Coun Crook said the council had taken the decision to reduce homelessness and the need for temporary accommodation.
He argued this would cut costs for the council and taxpayers, by stopping money going to “price-gouging accommodation owners and putting vulnerable residents in better standard accommodation, in council homes and by working with private and social providers.”
In Kirklees, Coun Crook said the council had managed to reduce the need for temporary accommodation by 25%, bucking the national trend. In addition, there was a 40% reduction in the use of B&B accommodation, due to new measures brought in.
He also said the Housing Solutions Service, had been instructed “no care-experienced young person should be put into B&B style temporary accommodation when they move on from our care. And the Housing Department is moving to ensure that no families with young children, nor pregnant women expecting children, will be put into B&B style temporary accommodation”.
Coun Crook said: “This political decision, puts the most vulnerable residents at the centre of our policy. This is the priority that you get with a Labour Council in charge, putting families first. I hope this is a political decision that all parties can get behind to ensure all of our children have the best start in life possible in Kirklees.”
He added: “There are 49,000 housing development sites in West Yorkshire, nearly all of which are not being built on. House building has to be done hand in hand if we are to deliver housing for families and workers in Kirklees, developers need to get on side and get building, providing jobs and much needed homes. They should stop land banking and raising the price of land to line their pockets.”
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