Road smash man ‘serious’
MAYOR LEADS BIGGEST HOMES PLAN SINCE THE 1960s
AROUND 6,000 households are currently waiting for council housing in Salford.
Most are waiting for a single bedroom – but more than 200 people apply whenever an affordable apartment that size becomes available in the city.
The most vulnerable people are housed in temporary accommodation. Some 155 families were living like that at the last count by Salford council on October 1.
The city’s mayor, Paul Dennett, says he can only see demand for ‘truly affordable’ housing increasing in the near future following the pandemic. But the self-described ‘sensible socialist’ has a plan to build 3,000 new council homes – the biggest public housing project Salford has seen since the 1960s.
“I always believe that we should never have stopped delivering council housing,” he said.
“When I speak with my colleagues here at the council, certainly some of my older colleagues, it’s quite clear that they have a shared frustration of what happened under the previous Labour government as well.”
The directly elected mayor says New Labour had an opportunity to address the housing crisis, but instead favoured private sector investment in a bid to keep spending off the Government’s books and the deficit ‘artificially down.’
He believes the state should be more interventionist in the housing market. That is why Salford council created its own housebuilding company, Derive, in 2017. This month, the council finally found funding, agreed to borrow up to £65m and committed to 417 new affordable, ‘good quality’ and eco-friendly homes. The councilowned company will start building the mix of one to five-bedroom houses and apartments for social rent in Ordsall, Pendlebury and Little Hulton in February and will buy a further 25 homes already being built in Langworthy.
As part of the housing plans, two former school sites will be transformed into community-led housing – believed to be the first of their kind in the region.
A total of 111 homes will be built at the former St Luke’s Primary School in Weaste and Irwell Valley Lower School in Irwell Riverside, of which 69 will be owned and run by the Broughton Trust and Inspiring Communities Housing.
Bernadette Elder, chief executive officer of Inspiring Communities Together, said the three likeminded organisations shared a ‘light bulb’ moment.
“I literally went to Paul and sat in his office while he was eating his soup and said: ‘I’ve got this mad idea. What do you think?’”
The housing scheme in Weaste will be a mixed community with two-bedroom maisonettes – older people living downstairs and younger ones above them.
Elderly residents will ‘buddy up’ with their younger neighbours as part of their commitment to ‘give back’ to the community when they agree to live there. All tenants must also become members of the community-led organisation.
Mike Thorpe, chief officer at the Broughton Trust whose affordable homes in Irwell Valley will be run more like council housing, says it’s a ‘novel’ approach.
Another key aspect of community-led housing is that the organisations do not have to abide by
Right to Buy which allows council tenants to buy their homes.
Mt Thorpe says this policy means that ‘within a matter of years,’ council-owned affordable houses which are sold end up in the hands of private landlords.
“The idea is not to let any of those houses to slip into the private sector, but to make sure we always have houses available for citizens to rent affordably.”
Salford’s mayor agrees and goes one step further, saying the housing and homeless crisis is ‘symptomatic’ of a failing system which needs to change.
But when asked when the 3,000 council homes will be built, Cllr Dennett says it depends on how central government will fund local authorities in the future.
He says that Salford council has had 53pc of core funding taken away in the last decade of austerity and calls for ‘proper robust local authority funding.’
He said: “When we hear central government talking about levelling up, unless they sort out local government financing and engage in a much more progressive approach to how we finance public services, then I think we can forget some of this ‘levelling up’ rhetoric to be honest with you.
“Local government financing goes to the heart of that agenda and if we’re serious about tackling inequality and poverty in society then we need to get serious about making sure those with the least amount of earned household income are not the people who pay significantly more as a proportion of their income in taxation.”
A MAN was in a ‘serious condition’ in hospital following a crash on the East Lancs Road.
Emergency services were called to reports of a vehicle smashing into a lamp post, at the junction with Higher Green Lane, in Astley, shortly before 3pm yesterday.
The road was closed in both directions following the collision.
The man was taken to Salford Royal Hospital to be treated for his injuries.
He remains in a serious condition, say police.
An air ambulance was spotted landing near to the scene shortly after the crash.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Emergency services attended and a man was taken to hospital in serious condition where he remains.
“Enquiries are ongoing.”
Households waiting for council housing in Salford