The East Riding Council's latest housing strategy has come under scrutiny as local representatives clash over whether the planned investment is sufficient to tackle the region's growing housing needs.
While the local authority maintains it is doing its best in a challenging financial climate, critics argue that the current targets lack the necessary ambition to make a meaningful impact on the lives of families waiting for a home.
The council's cautious approach to funding house building through borrowing has met with sharp criticism from those who believe the council is failing to keep pace with demand. Councillor Steve Gallant suggested that the current targets are actually a step backwards, pointing to a history of what he described as "negligible" progress when property sales are taken into account. He stated:
"The council had a modest target of building a thousand properties over the last four years, which is inadequate to make any inroads into the waiting list of families we have, and that target was only a gross figure. Once you net off the properties that we have sold, progress has been negligible.
In this new budget plan, we have a target of 750 or so. Again, this is too modest to address the housing needs in our communities.
We are told suitable sites are hard to find, but I'm afraid we lack ambition and the necessary will to address it.
Borrowing to build more would not only address our housing list but would also create assets which would deliver us revenue over potentially 100 years."
Councillor Nigel Wilkinson, the cabinet member for finance, defended the council's approach, highlighting a significant financial commitment while cautioning against the long-term impact of debt. He explained the scale of the investment and the fiscal reality facing the council:
"We are planning to invest in 753 new properties at over 158 million pounds over the next four years. This investment will come from credential borrowing, capital receipts and grants from Homes England.
If we borrow money even through the local government scheme, we have to pay interest. And as a rough calculation, when if we borrow it over 25 years, it doubles the cost of what we borrowed. You borrow 100 million, it costs us 20 00 million.
So, we will do our best to build as many homes as we can, but it is important to realize they cost a phenomenal amount of money."
According to council documents, the estimated cost of these additional units over the current financial planning period is approximately £157 million. To fund this expansion, the council expects to require around £112 million in new borrowing over the next four years, which is projected to see total debt within the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) rise from £281 million to £347 million.
The authority intends to meet its housing targets through several delivery methods:
- The continuation of the Homes England Affordable Homes Programme, which covers grant-funded new build schemes and the buying back of former council properties.
- Purchasing "off the shelf" properties directly from developers.
- Entering into development agreements with the private sector.
- Acquiring new homes through Section 106 planning gain.
Currently, the council manages a total of 11,196 rented dwellings. This inventory includes 9,833 homes for general needs, alongside specialized accommodation such as 776 dwellings for older people and 587 units for sheltered or supported housing. Despite this stock, the debate remains focused on whether the council’s future plans are enough to secure a home for every family in need across the county.
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