Wigan Council has today (Dec 02) announced their new housing plan, which will come into place next year with special focus on how Covid-19 has exposed problems in how housing planning has typically operated.
Wigan Council has acknowledged the need for more housing to accommodate for a growing population, but also taking into account the need for housing in the right places and for the right people.
The council will continue to pursue the shift to development on brownfield sites as well as continuing to build affordable homes on council-owned land.
The housing plans hope to encourage jobs in the borough by not only encouraging industry to come to the area but also by embedding Community Wealth Building principles in the approach to delivering housing with a key focus on providing more job and training opportunities with local construction businesses.
Councillor Terry Halliwell, Wigan Council’s cabinet member for housing and welfare, said:
“This strategy outlines the council’s actions to achieve our objectives for housing in the borough, working to improve the quality, choice, and supply of housing for current and future residents.
“We are committed to delivering high-quality affordable housing for local people to help them get onto the property ladder so we can ensure they stay longer in homes and invest in their communities.”
In the long term, Wigan Council has the goal of making all 22,000 of their council-owned homes carbon neutral as well as addressing the health impacts that good quality housing can have on wellbeing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
