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Morning Briefing: homeless protesters storm council-owned building and claim squatters rights
Homeless protesters storm a council building in Chester, criticism of the lack of affordable housing policies at the Conservative Party conference, and all your other major housing news stories of the day
Homeless protesters have stormed a council-owned building in Chester claiming squatters rights, The Guardian reports today.
A 20-strong group of rough sleepers took over the upper floors of Hamilton House in the city centre on Monday, saying that heavy rain had left them with no other option but to squat.
The top two floors of the building are empty, but on the bottom floor a 24/7 hub for homeless people is run by a council contractor.
The council said that the floors being occupied were not in a condition to accommodate people and said it was working with the police and other authorities to “find an appropriate way forward to resolve this situation”.
With the Conservative Party Conference closing yesterday, The I newspaper has written a piece claiming that the events of the past four days show that the government has turned its back on social housing.
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In the piece by the paper’s housing correspondent, Vicky Spratt, she pulls apart Robert Jenrick’s plan and claims it made no sense for several reasons, including the possibility that it would further shrink the number of affordable homes in the country and could be costly for those that make the switch.
Ms Spratt also asks the question of whether there will be a discount with the plan, a question that a number of sector figures have asked Inside Housing over the past couple of days.
Polly Neate, chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, has also criticised the lack of new policies on housing at the Conservative Party Conference. Writing in the HuffPost, she said that struggling renters “are here to stay” despite the lack of action from the ruling party.
Supporting Ms Neate’s comments is a new report which has found that rents across England have risen as the number of vacant properties fell in the past three months.
The report, which was covered on property site Property Wire, shows that rents rose by 12% across the South East between August and September, with rents also increasing by 8% in London and the West Midlands.
Supplies for care homes are being stockpiled by the Welsh government in anticipation of a possible no-deal Brexit, it has been revealed.
According to the BBC, over 1,000 different products, from bandages to food, have been stored for use in the health and social care sector if needed.
Southwark Council has unveiled plans to build new homes on council estate rooftops in a bid to tackle the chronic housing shortage.
The London borough has set itself a target to build 11,000 new social homes by 2043, however the authority has cited a lack of land as a key obstacle in achieving its housebuilding aims.
Southwark cabinet member Leo Pollak told Southwark News that “hundreds” of new homes could be built using modular design, which would allow new homes to be placed on the top floor of existing council blocks
Hackney Council has announced that its NHS-funded Housing First scheme will begin in January, with a provider to be confirmed next week, per the Hackney Gazette. Housing First aims to give the most vulnerable people in society an unconditional roof over their heads as part of their basic human rights.
A Thurrock Council report found that house prices had jumped 50% in five years and that 52% of residents in the authority would fail affordability requirements to buy the even the smallest types of property. According to the Thurrock Gazette, rents in the area had also risen by 30% in the same period.
Local government treasury and finance website Room 151 has reported a slowdown in council spending on land and buildings.
Data released by the government showed that spending had hit £4.4bn in 2018/19 but this was a far cry from the four-fold rise in spending from £1bn to £4.1bn in the previous year. Spending on housing was down by 6% in real terms to £323m.
The Welsh government has been criticised for breaking a pledge to end fuel poverty according to a National Audit Office (NAO) report.
The BBC writes that the NAO has stated that fuel poverty had halved in the 10 years between 2008 and 2018, however the target to eradicate it had been missed. Welsh government ministers said that the policy had been undermined by austerity measures by the UK government.
On social media
Our deputy news editor, Nathaniel Barker, is at the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Association conference. Follow him for updates:
.@bjacollins kicks off #NIFHA19 in Derry. He outlines the myriad challenges facing the sector, of which Brexit is only one, but reminds delegates how resilient they have shown themselves to be in the past.
— Nathaniel Barker (@NatBarkerIH).@bjacollins kicks off #NIFHA19 in Derry. He outlines the myriad challenges facing the sector, of which Brexit is only one, but reminds delegates how resilient they have shown themselves to be in the past.
— Nathaniel Barker (@NatBarkerIH) October 3, 2019