“CREATIVE resourcing” could be the answer to many of Barnet Council’s woes, according to its opposition leader.

Cllr Barry Rawlings, who heads the authority’s Labour group, will propose alternative methods of funding to build affordable housing in Barnet at a Policy and Resources Committee meeting on Tuesday evening.

The Coppetts ward councillor expects his proposal to reduce spending on temporary accommodation, create jobs and apprenticeships, improve public health, tackle homelessness and child poverty and ensure a “mixed, sustainable community”.

He will ask the council consider using money from its own pension fund and joining the UK Municipal Bond Agency, which helps public authorities with long-term borrowing of money, to pay for this.

Cllr Rawlings said: “They may well turn round to me and say this is a load of rubbish but I believe the report will come back and say it is a viable option.

“It’s about putting a little bit of money in now and seeing it pay off in the long term. If we invest money in affordable housing, we can reduce the need for temporary accommodation which will tackle homelessness.

“We can start welcoming people into Barnet who want to make a life here and then we would see people with valuable jobs – nurses, teachers, social workers, street cleaners – coming into the area and really making a difference.

“If we can establish the housing, I believe everything else will fall into place – homes, jobs, diversity. It’s the start of a better Barnet.”

During the meeting, Cllr Rawlings will request a report is brought back to the committee when it meets on Wednesday, October 5 to assess the economic feasibility of his proposal.