Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SOCIAL HOUSING PLANS COULD BE FAST-TRACKED
Council tackles child homeless crisis 20 , 000
BELFAST City Council is to consider fast-tracking planning bids for social housing to tackle the effect of homelessness on children.
At least 20,000 youngsters across Northern Ireland are in emergency or temporary accommodation.
Councillors voted to recognise the city’s housing crisis during a meeting on Thursday’s council meeting.
It follows a Mirror article highlighting the experiences of children languishing on
Housing Executive waiting lists as part of the Build
Homes Now campaign supported by Participation and the Practice of Rights Project.
Councillor Brian Heading said: “The motion will be progressed through the planning committee. We will be arguing the planning committee will need to address the issue.”
The SDLP man told how this would be in the form of discussions about fasttracking planning applications for social homes or land that could be zoned for housing.
He added the local authority will also be taking its concerns to the Department for Communities and the Housing Executive.
Mr Heading said: “Council recognises there is a crisis, but this is the first time that it’s going before the planning committee. Hopefully, they will adopt the ideas.” Housing Executive figures showed there are almost 20,950 children waiting for social housing.
The council’s motion recognised the UN has intervened three times in the past 10 years to urge Westminster and Stormont “to intensify their efforts to address and overcome persistent religious inequalities in social housing”.
The Housing Executive has said it will work to “secure planning policies to help prioritise land”.
The Department for Communities added: “Where housing need has been established in an area and it cannot be addressed because there are no suitable sites available, NIHE may ask the department to use its vesting powers to acquire land for social housing.”
Number of children who are living in temporary shelters in Ulster