The Mayor of West Yorkshire has confirmed a new programme will support the delivery of thousands of new homes across the county.
Having spoken to a gathering of Northern social housing leaders, the Mayor confirmed that £89 million of investment will be committed to the unlocking of more than 5,400 new homes by March next year.
This comes with more than 80,000 households on waiting lists for a council home, and more than 1,500 households living in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Funding will be allocated to housing providers that work across 28 sites in West Yorkshire, with work already in progress or completed on 16 projects. Work on the remaining 12 is set to begin before March 2025, with some developments set to be based on brownfield land.
Despite the major investment, the Mayor did warn that it would only be a ‘sticking plaster’ on the housing crisis that affects the region, with the significant number of
Speaking at the summit, West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said:
“This is personal for me. Growing up in a safe and secure council flat was the foundation on which my life was built, and I want every child in West Yorkshire to have that start in life.
“It’s unacceptable that we have hundreds of children in temporary accommodation, doing their homework on the bathroom floors of hotel rooms, because working families have been priced out of having a roof over their head.
“We’re turning the tide with almost £90 million to build 5,400 new homes on brownfield land, but we could unlock 38,000 more with the right freedoms and flexibilities from the government.
“Working together with our dedicated housing partners and the Deputy Prime Minister, we’ll build a greener, more secure region with thousands more affordable and sustainable homes.”
This follows West Yorkshire’s first ever regional housing strategy, with four pillars guiding housebuilding. These are:
- Boosting the supply of homes by bringing forward a pipeline of new housing developments
- Delivering more truly affordable homes, with the right homes in the right places for local people
- Improving the quality of existing homes, including making them more energy efficient to reduce energy bills
- Creating vibrant communities, with new housing contributing to safe, well-connected, green, creative and thriving places
Work in West Yorkshire will help to contribute to the government’s goal of delivering 1.5 million new homes in this parliament. Part of this will be done through the region’s leaders hopes for more than 38,000 new homes on brownfield land – with planning permission already secured.
Image credit: iStock
