Social housing is part of the solution

DEAR Editor, Neil Elkes’s recognition that social housing must be part of the solution to the housing crisis is welcome (‘Brum’s social housing crisis plays into the hands of bigots’, Post, March 8).

Housing associations in the West Midlands play a vital role in social housing supply, building more than 3,500 new homes in 2016 and starting work on a further 5,000.

Associations build homes for everyone, from young families and struggling first time buyers to older and more vulnerable people who may need care and support.

In Bournville, we are working with partners to build the village’s first Care Village – College Green – which will be home to almost 400 older people once complete.

It will provide a mix of accommodation options for Bournville’s ageing population whilst also making tenanted family sized homes available in the area.

Whilst volume is vital in tackling the city’s housing crisis, it is a mix of housing that builds successful communities long after the diggers have departed. Peter Roach, Chief Executive of Bournville

Village Trust, Bournville