Nia Griffith and Lee Waters welcome moves to build more council housing

Local representatives Nia Griffith MP and Lee Waters AM have welcomed the Welsh Government’s pledge to do more to make housing affordable for everyone by building thousands of new council homes over the coming decade.

The Cabinet Secretary for Housing in the Welsh Government has responded to the Affordable Housing Review by saying that she wants councils to take all “opportunities to create housing developments with at least 50% affordable housing”.

A requirement that half of new developments are affordable will lower prices in the long run.

To do this, Local Authorities will be empowered to begin building council houses again. Welsh Government will allow councils to borrow, and provide grant funding to enable this. It’s hoped thousands of new council houses will be built in the coming decade.

The Welsh Government has also agreed to five year rental settlements for social and council housing tenants – letting them know how much they will be paying in the future. The move also social landlords to plan their finances for future investment in new housing and improvements to existing homes.

Lee Waters AM said

“The Welsh Labour Government wants to improve the lives of everyone in Wales. Helping with the cost of housing is one of the ways we can do that.”

“By making sure housing is more affordable, we’re putting money back in the pocket of everyone in Wales. By backing housing associations and council housing we’re making sure that any profit generated from housing is used for the good of everyone, and reinvested in the community.”

“Against a backdrop of austerity that sees Welsh Government’s budget shrink every year, we’re still making choices to support people in Llanelli and across Wales.”

Nia Griffith MP said

“Setting rent for a longer period will allow people to plan for the future and provide some stability and is very much to be welcomed. ”