“This council expresses deep concern that:
· only 40 genuinely affordable homes were completed in Richmond since March 2022, with zero so far this year.
· Affordable housing supply has dwindled year on year since 2018 – just 166 completed since 2018/19 when this administration took over, yet 491 new affordable homes were completed over the previous eight years.
This council reiterates the need for social rent housing and commits to pursuing all options to increase their number including, but not limited to, converting Shared Ownership, Market, and London Living Rent to Social Rent on developments already given planning permission and hereafter.”
Not surprisingly the ruling party carried an amendment negating the criticism.
Richmond borough has been accused of not building enough social housing for low-income residents.
Opposition councillors said Lib Dem-run Richmond Council needed to do more to build homes for social rent, as they claimed none of this type of housing had been completed so far this year.
A motion tabled by Green councillor Niki Crookdake claimed only 40 “genuinely affordable” homes had been built in Richmond since March 2022, which she defined as those available for social rent, with zero so far this year.
She claimed only 166 of such homes had been completed since the Lib Dem administration took over from the Conservatives in 2018.
The motion urged the council to commit to pursuing all options to increase social housing levels on development sites, including converting tenures of homes on approved schemes to social rent.
Affordable housing options, as defined by the Greater London Authority (GLA), include homes for social rent, like council homes, those for London Living Rent, which is set at one-third of local average incomes, and homes for shared ownership, where people buy part of their homes and rent the rest.
Cllr Crookdake said she did not count homes for London Living Rent and shared ownership as “genuinely affordable” as they were out of reach for most low-income residents during a debate on Tuesday (2 December).
The council’s housing monitoring report for 2023/24 said a net zero of the 506 homes under construction in the borough were for social rent.
Cllr Crookdake called on the authority to push for more social rent homes on existing development sites.
She said: “The council needs to face the truth. Our affordable housing delivery has been poor and this was partially avoidable.
“Until the administration takes responsibility for its record and starts to invest more in existing sites, we will not move forward to constructive conversations about how to fix Richmond’s housing crisis.”
But Lib Dem councillor Chris Varley accused the motion of being a “disingenuous misrepresentation, citing figures without context and ignoring the reality of how housing delivery actually works”.
He said the administration had inherited a minimal affordable housing pipeline when it took office in 2018 and had “worked tirelessly” since then to rebuild it, with the benefits now coming through.
The Lib Dem administration put forward an amended motion counting all affordable housing options as “genuinely affordable”, while stressing the council was prioritising the delivery of social housing over other tenures.
Cllr Varley said the council had completed 81 “genuinely affordable” homes since March 2022, counting all options, with 22 built so far this year and more than 500 extra affordable homes due for completion in the next five years.
He said the authority had also brought 130 empty homes back into use and bought roughly 50 homes to be used as temporary accommodation.
“That is real progress, especially compared with the very poor fruits inherited from the previous administration,” he said.
Lib Dem councillor Jim Millard said the council did what it could to provide social housing, along with the other “genuinely affordable options”.
He added: “We all know how difficult it is to afford to live in Richmond… these homes matter for people who can’t afford market rents but may not qualify for social rent, yet the Greens are dismissing these key workers, the Greens are dismissing these younger residents, the Greens are dismissing these older people who benefit from the option of almshouses.”
But Green councillors insisted the authority needed to do more to provide social rent homes.
Councillor Crookdake said: “There are serious questions about delivery capacity.
“Residents in temporary accommodation, in overcrowded homes, or trapped in substandard estates don’t need a rebranding exercise or redefinitions of affordable, they need homes they can live in and afford.
“Richmond has the tools, the funding, the grant programmes and now the expertise in officers, please can we use these?”
Acknowledgement to Richmond Nub News
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