Newcastle housing plan is held up by red tape

Nov 17 2008 by William Green, The Journal

A PIONEERING council scheme to buy unsold properties and provide badly-needed social housing is being hindered by red tape, it is claimed.

Newcastle housing chiefs will make a decision on whether to buy a first tranche of houses within weeks, but cannot buy some homes as they do not meet Whitehall standards on social housing.

Under the scheme, homes will be available for affordable rents and help keep the property market afloat. Newcastle City Council has also been working with building societies to help mortgage holders sell part of their home but stay in it.

Bill Shepherd, the council’s executive member for regeneration and housing, said: “We are still in negotiations in order to get the best deal. We are talking to more than one developer now and there are several sites across the city where developers would like us to look at several options.”

The council’s housing arm – Your Homes Newcastle – will make a decision in three weeks on the first tranche of houses that are being offered for purchase, said Coun Shepherd. But he added some already-built houses could not be bought by the council because they did not meet Whitehall requirements for social housing in terms of accommodation size.

“I think there are standards of housing there for good reasons because it means people will be living in good quality accommodation that will stand the test of time,” he said.

“I do think though that unfortunately Government regulations like this are standing in the way of providing people with better homes.”

Nationally, £200m is available from the Government to buy unsold new homes, although council chiefs have warned that won’t be enough.

Pioneering scheme

THE Newcastle council scheme aims to avoid the nightmare of unfinished developments and provide affordable rental homes pitched between commercial and social prices.

And buying homes could be in council taxpayers’ long-term interests by ensuring steady price appreciation and giving confidence to other investors, say experts.

The Home Builders Federation has also said the scheme would maintain supply of social housing and support firms amid the economic downturn, which is hitting the building industry hard.