Horsham Labour have been campaigning for more affordable housing in the area for a long time. We believe that the lack of access to decent affordable housing is a serious injustice.Many letters on this subject have appeared in the local newspapers and we have met with representatives of Horsham District Council to discuss the issue.
We have met up with Government ministers and have arranged a meeting with Ian Wright the Housing Minister and our District Housing Department in an attempt to find ways of increasing the supply of local affordable homes. Despite many new Government initiatives and much greater levels of funding our Council appears happy to build less affordable homes, even than the low levels it is committed to building through its local structure plan.
As the Government announced an additional £1billion for housing Horsham District Council Chief Executive told a Broadbridge Heath Parish Council meeting on Monday 20 April that the new developments planned for Broadbridge Heath were unlikely to deliver 40% affordable homes. Stating that we were now in the territory of negotiating up from 0% with the developers.
Horsham Labour Party find this position totally unacceptable and calls on the Council to deliver the 40% level it originally committed itself to.
Specific measures that we believe would improve the availability of affordable housing are:
- Lowering the threshold below which developers must provide a proportion of affordable or social housing in planning applications from 14 to 2 homes
- Increasing the percentage of affordable or social housing to be provided on new developments to 50%
- Work in conjunction with West Sussex County Council to identify land that can be developed with a minimum of 50% affordable homes.
- Take advantage of Government initiaitives and which include the funding of the next generation of council housing and once more own council housing in Horsham.
- Seek to work more closely with local housing associations and identify those keen to develop within Horsham.