Torbay launches housing consultation

A councillor says there are 1,300 people on the waiting list

Torbay Council is asking for views on its plan to improve the chance of everyone finding a decent home.

It warns there is a housing crisis especially for the young and those on low incomes, with a quarter of households in Torbay renting privately and a shortage of social housing.

The council has launched a consultation on its housing and homelessness strategies, as well as its policies for housing enforcement and multiple-occupied homes.

Cabinet member Swithin Long said there were 1,300 people on the council’s housing waiting list and 100 in temporary accommodation.

The Liberal Democrat said: “The figure has gone up recently and it just highlights the need for the action that we are proposing.”

The housing strategy is a central part of a commitment from the council’s ruling partnership of Liberal Democrats and Independents to tackle poverty.

Its sets out the council’s priorities to improve the delivery, affordability and quality of housing in the area.

A report to the meeting said: “The draft Strategy sets out the impact that poor housing has on our population. 

“Ensuring that all our residents have access to good quality homes which are affordable and meet their particular needs is a vital part of tackling poverty, deprivation and vulnerability.”

The housing strategy highlights the shortage of social housing in Torbay which means more people are forced to rent privately.

It says housing benefit for under-35s is capped at the cost of a room in shared accommodation.

That means they cannot afford their own home and a quarter are still living with their parents.

The strategy says: “Nationally, the UK faces a housing crisis in which those on lower incomes, and younger generations particularly, are finding it increasingly difficult to access owner occupation or genuinely affordable rented housing.”

It estimates up to 340,000 new homes are needed nationally each year to keep up with demand.

In Torbay, one in four households is renting privately, with only eight per cent in social housing and there has been a noticeable rise in homelessness.

The report adds: “The lack of access to owner occupation and continuing scarcity of genuinely affordable social housing has stimulated growth in the private rented sector.”

The strategy says national planning policy is to rely on developers building some affordable homes as part of market-led housing schemes.

But there is a concern that Torbay is missing out because house-builders can get higher prices in other parts of the Westcountry including around Exeter.

In Torbay, 30 per cent of new homes should be social housing, but developers can avoid that if they prove it would make their scheme non-viable.

In Torbay, local policies set out a need for 612 new homes a year on a mix of ‘brownfield’ sites and new developments.

Statistics show a quarter of Torbay neighbourhoods are among the 20 per cent most deprived areas in England.

Torbay Council has already decided to set up a housing company backed with £125million of borrowing to build social housing on sites it owns.

The council’s Cabinet approved the launch of consultation on the housing documents at a meeting on Tuesday night.