Housing policy comes under fire
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| Helen Jones MP |
WARRINGTON North MP Helen Jones, pictured, has slammed Warrington Borough Council's housing policy during a key parliamentary debate.
The MP said the Lib Dem/Tory-run council was not doing enough to meet the need for affordable housing in the town.
She said: "Warrington has exceeded its house building targets, yet we do not have the kind of housing that we need. We have a joint problem.
"People who need social housing cannot obtain it, and young couples who want to get a foot on the ladder cannot afford to buy."
She said that the council's bid to be a housing growth point was flawed.
She said: "Warrington's bid gives all the appearance of having been cobbled together.
"The bid talks about building a new image' for Warrington.
"Frankly I would rather the council builds some affordable housing.
"I hope that, when looking at such bids, he (the Housing Minister Ian Wright) will not allow a situation in which families who have lived in an area for generations are priced out because of the kind of buildings that are being developed."
With possible housing developments at the former police training site at Bruche and on the Woolston High School site, Mrs Jones asked the minister to ensure any bid:
l was properly appraised and did not price local people out of an area;
l produced good quality housing and no high-rise flats.
In his reply, Mr Wright agreed affordability has emerged as the single most important issue in housing.
He concluded by indicating that the borough council needed to up its game.
"If Warrington is to realise its ambition to deliver half of the new growth as affordable housing, that would represent a step change in performance," he added.
8:33am Friday 28th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Mr.Tickle, Former Woolston Resident on 8:55am Fri 28 Mar 08
The problem is that many young people are finding it so hard to get on the property ladder these days, its not a problem that is unique to Warrington either. Most of the new housing in Warrington is on brownfield sites which is good, but the fact is that these are right next to notorious council estates and are not the most desirible locations to live in, thus you have low demand areas.
The problem is that many young people are finding it so hard to get on the property ladder these days, its not a problem that is unique to Warrington either. Most of the new housing in Warrington is on brownfield sites which is good, but the fact is that these are right next to notorious council estates and are not the most desirible locations to live in, thus you have low demand areas.
Posted by: william hill, orford on 9:08am Fri 28 Mar 08
thet may be low demand areas but they are still pricey
thet may be low demand areas but they are still pricey
Posted by: Tony's Spuds, Opposite Warrington Market on 12:38pm Fri 28 Mar 08
The problem aint the location of the houses its the affordability of them. A lot of people nowadays can't afford to buy and the developers do nothing to provide a range of affordable housing on sites. Thats why a lot of houses aren't selling at present.
The problem aint the location of the houses its the affordability of them. A lot of people nowadays can't afford to buy and the developers do nothing to provide a range of affordable housing on sites. Thats why a lot of houses aren't selling at present.
Posted by: mad1, orford on 3:08pm Fri 28 Mar 08
housing problems ha, a friend of mine with 4 children parted from her husband and was left with nowhere to live the council werent intrested.yet they are able to give a four bedroom brand new built house to a couple on there own?????? she ended up having to private let which is a lot more rent
housing problems ha, a friend of mine with 4 children parted from her husband and was left with nowhere to live the council werent intrested.yet they are able to give a four bedroom brand new built house to a couple on there own?????? she ended up having to private let which is a lot more rent
Posted by: shedhead, Runcorn on 5:12pm Fri 28 Mar 08
The council cnt refuse to know if someone is homeless. Ask the thousands of europeans who have fled here!
The council cnt refuse to know if someone is homeless. Ask the thousands of europeans who have fled here!
Posted by: Dave Maskall, Azerbaijan on 6:01pm Fri 28 Mar 08
Affordable is the key issue but with a big but. A very big but.
I was born in Warrington in Fothergill Street in 1941 during the war with Germany where there was no welfare state, no credit cards, no building societies, no banks willing to lend money unless you had collateral (strange word these days - collateral),strangel
y, no anti-social behaviour either. Days where everyone helped one another especially those families where fathers and husbands never returned home. There were no unsafe streets to walk at night, where the rule of law was sacrosanct, where teachers were respected and where family values were observed, respected and maintained.
Private letting was the norm and local authority housing was restricted to areas like Orford and Latchford. I neither intend nor level any disrespect to either of these areas but this is indeed an historical fact.
Time moves on and things change and I fully appreciate this, but the sooner both people, and maybe more importantly politicians, learn to learn from the hard lessons of the past and strive to survive from their own efforts and not always depend on the Granny state then the better the place will be.
Why does everyone these days think the world owes them a living while they sit on their backsides and do nothing.
I lived and worked in the UK for 45 years without recourse to government handouts or subsided housing from local authorities but it now seems that people want everything for nothing.
The simple answer is get get off your bums, just as I and many others like me did, and get a job and look after yourselves. Bloody simple from where I stand and thank the heavens I no longer live in what was once a nation of workers that has now turned, in my lifetime, to a nation of whingers and beggars looking for handouts.
As a Warringtonian of yesteryear, and proud of it, I yearn to see the day when old fashioned values return but I fear those days are gone forever.
My beloved home town - I hand reluctantly hand you over to the current generation.
My heart bleeds for Warrington and what she has become - my birthplace, my family home, my formative years, Oakwood Avenue County Primary, Boteler Grammar, my friends, my memories, the things I will carry to my grave.
My beloved home town. RIP.
Affordable is the key issue but with a big but. A very big but.
I was born in Warrington in Fothergill Street in 1941 during the war with Germany where there was no welfare state, no credit cards, no building societies, no banks willing to lend money unless you had collateral (strange word these days - collateral),strangel
y, no anti-social behaviour either. Days where everyone helped one another especially those families where fathers and husbands never returned home. There were no unsafe streets to walk at night, where the rule of law was sacrosanct, where teachers were respected and where family values were observed, respected and maintained.
Private letting was the norm and local authority housing was restricted to areas like Orford and Latchford. I neither intend nor level any disrespect to either of these areas but this is indeed an historical fact.
Time moves on and things change and I fully appreciate this, but the sooner both people, and maybe more importantly politicians, learn to learn from the hard lessons of the past and strive to survive from their own efforts and not always depend on the Granny state then the better the place will be.
Why does everyone these days think the world owes them a living while they sit on their backsides and do nothing.
I lived and worked in the UK for 45 years without recourse to government handouts or subsided housing from local authorities but it now seems that people want everything for nothing.
The simple answer is get get off your bums, just as I and many others like me did, and get a job and look after yourselves. Bloody simple from where I stand and thank the heavens I no longer live in what was once a nation of workers that has now turned, in my lifetime, to a nation of whingers and beggars looking for handouts.
As a Warringtonian of yesteryear, and proud of it, I yearn to see the day when old fashioned values return but I fear those days are gone forever.
My beloved home town - I hand reluctantly hand you over to the current generation.
My heart bleeds for Warrington and what she has become - my birthplace, my family home, my formative years, Oakwood Avenue County Primary, Boteler Grammar, my friends, my memories, the things I will carry to my grave.
My beloved home town. RIP.
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