Northants housing leaders unite at Westminster event to call for affordable housing long-term plan
Two Chief Executives of Northamptonshire-based housing associations joined forces to call for a long-term plan for affordable housing during a Westminster roundtable event.
Julie Doyle, Chief Executive of Longhurst Group, and Jo Savage, Chief Executive of Greatwell Homes, attended the discussion in Portcullis House on the day Rishi Sunak announced a summer general election.
Also in attendance were Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, representatives of Lloyds Banking Group and Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness.
Emphasis was put on the importance of the next government working closely with the social housing sector to find solutions in both the short term and further into the future.
Julie Doyle said: “The demographic has changed significantly. People are living for longer and with many more issues around health and wellbeing, whether that be physical disabilities or mental health.
“We need to create a chance for the sector to think differently, and I know that’s difficult. Some of the more creative solutions are the expensive ones and can fall by the wayside.
“It really worries me that people aren’t linking housing and health, so I think we need to look at opportunities for ensuring the properties we build, and our existing ones, can be adapted for people as their lives and needs change.
“By having a long-term approach to providing affordable and accessible housing, and linking this in with public health and the significant impact it can have on the public purse, we can make a difference.”
Jo echoed this call, saying simple and small measures can go a long way to creating accessible housing.
“It can be as simple as the drainage you put under the floor in bathrooms so that they can be converted easily into wet rooms,” she said.
“That can cost as little as £200 per unit, so obviously there’s a short-term consideration in terms of additional cost to a new development, but in the long-term it’s a much cheaper way of adapting a home and supporting people to maintain their tenancies for longer.
“Due to the way funding has been allocated in the past, it’s encouraged housing associations to build a certain type of property and we actually need more variety and more flexibility when it comes to building the sort of homes that people need.”