Figures show new affordable and social stock in Portsmouth growing at ‘marginal rate’
FEARS as new data shows affordable and social home stock in Portsmouth has grown at a ‘marginal rate’ have been raised, but the council has insisted it has 'ambitious plans.'
Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed there were 16,357 social and affordable homes in Portsmouth in April last year – up just 0.3 per cent from 12 months earlier.
This was generally in line with the rise across England as a whole, where the figure rose by just 0.4 per cent to 4.15 million – an extra 17,000 homes.
Portsmouth housing activist, Councillor Cal Corkery, had concerns. He said: 'The most recent figures show the social housing stock in Portsmouth to be growing at such a marginal rate that it will take decades to house all the homeless and on the waiting list.
'There are several large sites consisting of disused or underused public land in the city where we've been told for many years that thousands of homes will be built but yet not a single brick has been laid. It's time to get on and develop the significant numbers of new council homes our city desperately needs.'
In Portsmouth, 18 per cent of homes were social or affordable in 2019 – just above the national average of 17 per cent - a drop from 20 per cent in the year 2001.
The council's housing boss, Councillor Darren Sanders, explained the figures would not reflect the work currently being done. He said: 'Work on homes Portsmouth people can afford should be completed by the end of this year on the site of the former Southsea Community Centre. We have also got plans for developments in Doyle Avenue in Hilsea, the old brewery house in Hambrook Street and the records office in Museum Road.
'We have working with a housing association to provide 183 affordable homes in Kingston Prison. We have got ambitious plans to make sure we are building more. But we are also buying back individual homes, some of them previously sold under right to buy.'
Tory spokesman for housing, Cllr Scott Payter-Harris, added 'It is unfortunate we haven't been able to hit the national average but we are against authorities that don't have the same issues as us - we have limited land supply as an island.'
According to the data there were 82,524 social and affordable homes in the Hampshire County Council area in April last year – up 1.4 per cent from 2018.
In Gosport there were 6,152 - an increase of 0.01 per cent, in Havant there were 10,503 - an increase of 0.4 per cent and in Fareham there were 4,265 - an increase of two per cent.
Rent for affordable homes is set as 80 per cent of the market value, however, social homes vary depending on the council.