Community Housing Cymru (CHC) wants a full review of affordable housing in Wales – unveiling a 20-year plan of its own that doubles the sector’s home delivery rate to 75,000
At its annual conference in Cardiff today (16 November), Community Housing Cymru will pledge to make good housing a ‘basic right’ for all in Wales by 2036.
The ‘vision’ builds on the Essex Review of Affordable Housing in Wales that, a decade ago, laid the foundation to enable housing associations to achieve more.
Housing is firmly established as a priority in the Welsh Government’s Prosperity for All strategy.
However, Community Housing Cymru is pushing for more ambition, improved collaboration and recognition that affordable housing is the key to prosperity so that housing associations can do even more to tackle Wales’ housing crisis and add value to communities.
CHC’s ‘Housing Horizons’ vision outlines a plan to increase and accelerate the work housing associations are already doing to make Welsh communities more healthy, prosperous, and connected.
Other commitments for 2036 include:
- Spending 95p of every pound in Wales
- Exploring the establishment of a housing innovation hub to enable the development of flexible homes to meet people’s changing needs
- Ensuring that all housing association homes will meet near-zero-carbon standard.
The call for a housing policy review, alongside the launch of the sector’s long-term vision, comes as new figures reveal the vital economic impact of Welsh housing associations.
Data released today in Community Housing Cymru’s latest Socio-Economic Impact report demonstrates that, in 2016/17:
- Welsh housing associations built 2,207 homes – an increase of 17% on last year’s figure
- 34% of these homes were built without Social Housing Grant
- The sector directly spent over £1bn, with 84% ploughed into the Welsh economy
- For every one person employed by a housing association, another one and a half jobs were supported elsewhere in the Welsh economy.
Stuart Ropke, CHC chief executive, said: “Our vision for Wales in 2036 is one where good housing is a basic right for all.
“Housing is the cornerstone of a stable community – it affects our health, the connections we make within communities and, fundamentally, the prosperity of our places.
“From doubling the delivery rate of affordable homes to ensuring that the right services are built around these homes, it’s crucial that we establish the most effective policy environment to create a solid foundation for current and future generations – This is why we need a review of housing policy in Wales.
“Our latest socio-economic impact report demonstrates that we have a strong track record of building, investing and re-investing.
“We have big ambitions and we’re embarking on this next stage of the journey to build a stronger and more prosperous Wales, but we cannot do it alone.
“Today, we’re laying down a challenge to housing associations and our partners across the public, private and third sectors to work together to ensure that good housing is a basic right for all in Wales by 2036.”
More than 2,500 homes were completed in the previous year, a number acknowledged as a solid start towards the 12,500 homes housing associations pledged to deliver over the present Assembly in a Pact with Welsh Government and the Welsh Local Government Association.
With £470m spent on regenerating communities across Wales, housing associations have contributed nearly £2bn to the Welsh economy – having built more than 20,000 homes in the last decade.
