Affordable homes: Council has failed people in need (From Times Series)

Affordable homes: Council has failed people in need

10:26am Friday 20th August 2010 in

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Council leader Lynne Hillan’s accusation that Labour has “no ideas of its own” and is opposing her proposals to restrict the housing waiting list “for the sake of it” is incorrect (‘Labour group accused of lacking ideas by council leader’, www.times-series.co.uk, August 13).

The best way of housing more people in need is to build more affordable homes, and that is the policy of the Barnet Labour group, backed up by over £140 million of investment in Barnet from the last Labour Government — funding that may be cut by the new Conservative-led coalition Government. Sadly, Cllr Hillan’s Conservative council has refused to implement policies that would have maximised the number of new affordable homes in the borough while funding was available. Policies that would have helped maximise affordable housing include: ensuring that 50 per cent of all new homes built are affordable to ordinary people, and, removing the threshold below which new developments do not need to provide affordable homes — both ideas advocated by Barnet Labour in policy items debated at council meetings, but voted against by Cllr Hillan’s Conservative group.

Cllr Hillan’s new housing allocations policy of restricting the number of people who are eligible to apply for social housing on the basis of whether or not the council deems them to be making a “positive contribution to the community” is simply an admission that her council has failed to build enough affordable homes to house those in need.

Ross Houston, Barnet Labour spokesperson on housing and regeneration