Housing market Key workers being priced out of city
KEY workers are being forced to quit vital jobs and move away from Bristol because of unaffordable house prices, a council meeting was told.
In the past fortnight a social care professional had to leave their role at the local authority after just four months and move to where property is cheaper, along with their partner who is also a social worker, members heard.
The exodus is jeopardising crucial Bristol City Council targets, including delivering enough affordable homes to meet the city’s needs, with the risk of failure to achieve this rated as “critical” – and deemed to be “almost certain” in the organisation’s own risk register, it was revealed.
The authority says a four-year housing delivery plan will set out its strategy for meeting Labour mayor Marvin Rees’s target of building 1,000 affordable homes a year by 2024 and that this year’s goal of 450 will increase annually through a range of options for accelerating housing supply.
Former Green councillor Clive Stevens told overview and scrutiny management board members: “In a nutshell if we don’t have enough affordable homes, the city won’t have access to enough key workers to be able to deliver some of the council’s corporate strategy goals.
“This affordable housing shortfall presents a systemic risk to the mayor’s corporate strategy because having enough affordable homes is such an important part of having enough carers, teachers and other key workers in the city.
“It is an important issue to at least 25 per cent of Bristolians and could be a threat to the corporate plan. Last week a council adult social care professional handed in their notice.
“They had been working for the council for just four months and were to be an important part of the team. They have a partner, a social worker.
“Their reason for both leaving so soon was they couldn’t afford to live in Bristol. They have moved to where property is cheaper. A household of two working people, not totally full time, can’t afford to live here.”
The ex-audit committee vice-chairman, who used to lead the annual budget scrutiny process before stepping down as a councillor because of ill health in 2020, said the lack of affordable housing had been getting worse since at least 2000.
“Bristol planners and builders have failed to deliver enough during the last 20 years,” he told the City Hall meeting on Monday, October 18.
“There is a low chance of meeting the city’s needs and high harm caused by not doing so.”
In a written response to Mr Stevens’ concerns, a council officer said: “The emerging 2021-25 housing delivery plan will set out the council’s strategy for meeting the 1,000 homes a year target by 2024.
“It will look at a range of options for accelerating supply by working with partner providers, the council’s housing company and the direct delivery of council homes.
“The housing delivery plan will reflect the impact affordable housing has on meeting wider corporate aims.
“We recognise the importance and value of affordable housing, and continue to press for the right national investment in key projects such as Temple Quarter that support our ambitious aims for the city.”
A household of two working people, not totally full time, can’t afford to live here Cllr Clive Stevens