Mike Hedges AM asks Welsh Government Minister what can be done to encourage Council House Building in Wales

Mike Hedges AM asks Welsh Government Minister what can be done to encourage Council House Building in Wales

Speaking from the Assembly, Swansea East AM, Mike Hedges AM said… There was a time when Swansea had over 16000 council houses, now it has well under half that; the need for social housing has not decreased however. Some of the council houses my generation grew up in remain some remain some of the best houses in Swansea. It is important that the Welsh Government encourages and does all that it can to assist Local Authorities to build houses again. I am so pleased that Swansea Council are building houses again and I was pleased to accompany the Minister on a visit to the new council house building site in Birchgrove, Swansea. These new energy efficient homes show what can be achieved and I hope that Swansea – and other local authorities – build with the same enthusiasm as was shown in the post war house building boom.

Mike Hedges AM – We know that only twice since the First World War have houses been built in the numbers necessary to meet demand. Once was in 1930 when there was very little control over development; I think that was what Mohammad Asghar was asking for earlier. And the second time was in the 1950s and 1960s when we had the large-scale building of council housing, and not only large-scale building of council housing but the necessary infrastructure to go with it. I wish to stress the importance of large-scale council house building to meet housing need; I believe it’s the only way we actually are going to be able to meet the needs of housing, because it’s not in the best interest of private developers to build sufficient because that would depress prices, and their aim is to maximise profit. So, they wish to increase prices as much as they possibly can. That’s how Redrow made just under £400 million profit last year. What is the Government doing to enable this to occur?126

Julie James AM 14:28:57

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Julie James AM – I agree with Mike Hedges; I think we’re on the same page entirely. Traditionally, local authorities were indeed the prime providers of social housing across the UK with, of course, the massive house building programme that came in the post-war period. And those houses are still very popular homes today for some of the most vulnerable residents in our communities. But the building programmes were curtailed by financial restraints imposed by the UK Government on Welsh and other local authorities, and that has largely meant that large-scale council housing has been severely limited for a generation; in fact, since Margaret Thatcher introduced the right to buy legislation back in the late 1980s.127
So, we do recognise the important role councils have in building new homes for local people, and I’m very enthused that we are potentially on the cusp of a new golden age for social housing in Wales. The Member, Mike Hedges, is completely right that the biggest increase in the scale and pace of social housing is expected to come from our local authorities, now they’re able to build once again. The borrowing cap has finally been lifted by the UK Government, who’ve seen the light it seems, and there is an opportunity to turn council house building ambitions once more into results.128
I’ve just had the affordable housing supply review published, and I’ll be responding to those recommendations shortly. That review specifically considers what support local authorities will need to help them build again at pace and scale. We are welcoming of both the review and the lifting of the cap. We want to work very fast now to see whether we can get a revolution in social housing once again in Wales