Are you a Banana*?
*Build Absolutely Nothing, Anywhere, Never Again!
That’s the question we asked people
during Rural Housing Week last month.
The aim was to highlight the fact that
affordable housing is the life blood of any
sustainable rural community. A lack of
affordable housing means a lack of local
people, and the lack of local people means
a decreasing need for rural services and
amenities such as the local school, shop,
post office and transport links.
Affordable housing is fundamental
to the economic and social wellbeing
of rural Wales, and Rural Housing Week
provided the opportunity to highlight some
of the challenges facing rural housing
providers – challenges which have been
well documented. A report by the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation in 2008 highlighted
a rise in hidden homelessness, an acute
shortage of available land for new build,
a large number of homes sitting empty
in Wales, and higher development costs
in rural areas along with poor statistical
analysis of rural housing need.
Since the report was launched almost
five years ago, we have made some
progress such as the introduction of a
Welsh network of rural housing enablers
– experts who work with communities to
help encourage development of affordable
housing. We also now have a commitment
that publicly-owned land will be registered
and released for new affordable housing,
and the Welsh Government has set a target
(and provided funding) of bringing 5,000
empty properties back into use.
The recent welfare reforms and the
bedroom tax in particular will have
a massive impact on people living in
rural Wales. The supply of temporary
accommodation available to local
authorities in rural Wales mainly consists of
leased private rented properties or bed and
breakfast accommodation.
The NIMBY lobby is still out in full
strength in many parts of rural Wales,
using ‘village green’ applications, ecological
protection actions and other planning
objections to prevent or slow down the
development of new affordable housing.
Rural Housing Week provided the
opportunity to discuss how affordable
housing plays a key role in contributing
to thriving rural communities and gave us
the opportunity to raise awareness among
local communities and councils of the
importance of sympathetic and sustainable
rural development and the benefits it can
bring to the wider community.
To see the range of activities
undertaken throughout the
week visit our website
http://bit.ly/168Zc1e
You can pin your support for
sustainable communities by
visiting http://bit.ly/MO7wIL
Social justice and economic growth
Last month, the Welsh Government
announced a further £30 million of
investment in housing for this financial
year – £20 million for social housing
grant and £10 million for the Welsh
Government’s empty homes fund. The
fact that the housing sector has received
39 per cent of a £76.5 million capital
investment package demonstrates the
political priority attached to housing.
Additional funding into the housing
market provides so much more than bricks
and mortar, it will provide a boost to
the Welsh economy and job and training
opportunities for local people and we
have a track record in delivering. Research
by the Wales Economic Research Unit at
Cardiff University found that last year our
sector directly employed 7,500 people
and supported an additional 12,700 jobs in
the economy. About 80 per cent of social
housing spend is retained in the Welsh
economy.
The last comprehensive spending review
meant a cut of almost 40 per cent in social
housing grant. But through top-ups from
Welsh Government from efficiency savings
and additional Whitehall consequentials,
we have built over 4,000 new affordable
homes towards a target of 7,500 over the
past two years. We exceeded the previous
One Wales target of 6,500.
We pride ourselves on delivery: yet the
fallout from the economic crisis including
pressure on public subsidy and traditional
bank lending means we need to continue
to innovate – which is why we have
worked with members to turn ‘water into
Social justice and economic growth
wine’ through developing a new Welsh
Housing Bond, and have seen members
embark on a number of innovative new
initiatives including the Welsh Housing
Partnership, and land-based innovations
including Ely Mill.
Community Housing Cymru has
previously called for a ‘welfare defence
programme’ and we were delighted to see
that Welsh Government will be targeting
the social housing grant at individuals and
families that may be adversely affected as
a result of the UK Government’s reductions
in housing benefit.
Nick Bennett, group chief exective,
Community Housing Cymru