Richmond Council should give more attention to the housing needs of key workers and low income families.

That's the main theme of a recent report by the Affordable Housing Scrutiny Task Group, a cross-party think tank set up by the Social Care and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee in December 2003. The report was approved by the Committee at its last meeting on 9th September and is due to be considered by the Cabinet on 9th November.

There was widespread agreement in the Task Group about the nature of the problem. Shortage of land in Richmond suitable for development as well as its popularity as a place to live pushes up the cost of housing. Research indicates that Richmond and Twickenham are the second and third least affordable towns out of 451 across Britain for first time buyers.

Luxury developments in the borough are beyond key workers and those in housing need

Key workers cannot afford to live in the area so Council and other essential services are damaged by problems with recruitment and retention of staff. And over 4000 families on the Council's waiting list, mostly on very low incomes have little prospect of re-housing in the foreseeable future.

Members of the Task Group, drawn from two of the Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees, consulted housing and planning experts before drawing up their recommendations. Amongst the most important were

• That affordable housing should have higher priority when the Council is seeking to dispose of its own sites.
• That Council officers should be more accountable for the continuing shortfall in achieving targets for affordable units within private developments.
• That the Council should actively explore the potential benefits of new kinds of tenure and give greater emphasis to intermediate renting for key workers.
• That the Council should explore the feasibility of a larger scale eco-housing development, as already proposed by the Climate Change Task Group.
• That the Director of Social Services and Housing should be asked to submit proposals within six months for resolving the acute shortage of family sized accomodation and
• That the Council should review the current arrangements for consulting with key partners on housing matters, and the department's management structure, in order to strengthen its role in housing matters.

The report was welcomed by Councillor Sue Jones who chairs the Social Services and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee. "The Task Group should be congratulated on their efforts," she said. "The report makes constructive proposals and they have been strongly supported by this Committee. I urge people to read the whole report and attend the Cabinet Meeting on 9th November.

"Members of the public are welcome and they are not powerless to influence changes in attitudes by the present administration. The need for affordable and low rent accommodation is obviously a priority, so it's essential for our services to improve and to help residents on lower incomes to continue living in the Borough. We hope the Cabinet will give a positive response."

See a copy of the full report

Tuesday, October 26, 2004

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