Welsh government to act ‘as quickly as possible’ on affordable housing recommendations

Among its recommendations, the taskforce said social homes that are currently void, and need signification investment, should be brought back into use “as a matter of priority”. This should be funded by the Transitional Accommodation Capital Programme and they should be counted as part of the Welsh government’s 20,000 additional homes for social rent target.

The taskforce also said councils and housing associations need to have “closer collaboration” and “regular communication” to “deliver against local need”.

The report said that trade body Community Housing Cymru and the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) needed to play a “greater role” in challenging all social landlords and councils to “bring forward an ambitious pipeline of new schemes”.

The biggest change recommended, according to the taskforce, was for land identified as suitable for housing in the local development plan (LDP) to have a “presumption towards development”.

It said: “Too many hurdles are placed in the way of development and there needs to be a shift toward a ‘Permission in Principle’ once it has been agreed land is suitable for housing at the LDP stage. This will require a change to primary legislation and will not happen quickly.”

Elsewhere, the report said social landlords also need to ensure that data on development programmes are “maintained regularly and accurately” on the government’s Homes and Places Portal.

“This will ensure the effective and speedy flow of funding, and will identify problems and support required earlier in the process so that decisions can be prioritised,” the report said.

On Section 106, the taskforce said a standard “template approach” should be agreed for all planning authorities, social landlords and private developers, with a time limit for an agreement to be reached.

Land owned by the public sector should be made available at a discount if it is used for a significant number of social homes, and temporary “high-quality” modular homes should be used to cut the use of temporary accommodation, the report added. 

Social landlords should also look for opportunities for smaller ‘infill’ sites on or close to existing housing developments where spare land can be used to create homes, and the government should ask housing associations “to identify action they can take to contribute to the development of a skills pipeline”, the taskforce said.

It is not clear at this stage which recommendations the housing secretary will bring forward and which will fall to other departments. 

But Ms Bryant said: “I will accept the recommendations that fall to me and will speak to my cabinet colleagues where recommendations are within their responsibilities.

“I have instructed my officials to establish an implementation group that includes representatives from across the sector and I will announce the membership of that group shortly.

“I will ask the group to report back to me regularly on the progress they are making, to evaluate and implement the recommendations as quickly as possible.”

The Welsh government is aiming to deliver 20,000 new social homes in this current parliament.

In response to the report, Elly Lock, head of policy and external affairs at Community Housing Cymru, said: “Housing associations consistently deliver 75% or more of all new social homes in Wales each year, and are committed to doing more.

“The recommendations address many of the major challenges that our members tell us they experience in trying to bring forward more new homes, in relation to the planning system, land availability, access to skills and their ability to offer new homes more quickly through acquisition and renovation.”

A spokesperson for the WLGA said it welcomed the report and will “take time” to review and understand its findings.

"A number of the recommendations relate directly to councils and the WLGA and we will be considering these carefully,” the spokesperson added. 

“We recognise the importance of continuing to work collaboratively with partners across the housing sector to support the delivery of more affordable homes in communities across Wales.”

Mark Harris, planning and policy advisor for Wales at the Home Builders Federation (HBF), added: “HBF welcomes the report and several of its recommendations, which will also help speed up the delivery of much-needed private homes in Wales, as well as the affordable homes for rent.

“We would also welcome the opportunity to be part of the implementation group and help deliver as many of the recommendations as possible.”