Metro mayor candidate unveils housing vision
● A LABOUR metro mayor candidate joined forces with the shadow housing secretary to highlight his bold vision for housing across Halton and Merseyside.
Steve Rotheram will unveil a Housing Challenge competition to discover and pilot innovative ways for building homes in the Liverpool City Region.
The competition will be open to individuals and organisations to design a neighbourhood of 400 to 500 dwellings.
A spokesman for Mr Rotheram said it will establish innovative approaches to ‘community involvement’, design, build, financing and sustainability, with the aim of achieving a strong, resilient neighbourhood having a sense of place and wellbeing.
The competition is also seeking introducing new approaches for older people, modern mutual and co-operative models, self-build initiatives, and ‘community-led’ neighbourhood design.
It also seeks fresh funding approaches as well as modern methods of construction.
The Walton MP showed shadow housing secretary John Healey around two sites with some of the principles he is aiming to encapsulate in the Housing Challenge, including the Eldonians in Liverpool and one in St Helens.
Mr Rotheram said: “Both demonstrate the power of empowering local communities and showcase what we need to capture for the communities of the future.
“This is part of my vision for building 21st century communities across the Liverpool City Region.”
Mr Healey added: “It’s been great to see the innovative housing schemes making a big difference to communities in Liverpool.
“Steve’s Housing Challenge, which will encourage many more like this, shows how Labour in power can deliver the homes people need, where the Conservative Government can’t or won’t.”