Failure to include social housing in the Government’s upcoming ‘levelling up’ plan may escalate the housing emergency in Plymouth, a report by Shelter has warned.
The leading homelessness and housing charity is calling for a commitment from the government to build more social housing to ensure that local people benefit from levelling up plans in their area.
The new report, Levelling Up with Social Housing, looks at the housing emergency through three locations which lack affordable housing: Plymouth, Burnley and Sheffield. It exposes Plymouth’s lack of affordable quality homes, with 43% of private renters now relying on housing benefit to pay their rent, up from 34% pre-pandemic.
It comes as renters are under more intense pressure than ever this winter, with soaring fuel costs, the £20 cut to universal credit and shorter notice periods for private renters all now in effect.
Shelter is warning that as the government is pouring billions into new projects such as roads, train stations and new town centres through its levelling up agenda, there is a risk that housing costs in these areas will increase. With this, people who are already struggling to cover their living costs, will be priced out of their areas, ultimately leading to a rise in homelessness.
Current restrictions imposed in Westminster mean Plymouth can’t secure the money it needs to build social homes in the city. There are currently 7,800 households on the social housing waiting list in Plymouth, but only 24 social homes were built in 2019-20, and just 808 have been built in the last decade.
The report shows how in Plymouth, frequent moves and poor conditions endured by people facing homelessness is causing serious disruption to their lives. This includes families, with the anxiety of changing schools negatively impacting children’s education and mental health.
Vicki Sampson, hub manager at Shelter Plymouth, said:
“We believe a safe home is a human right, but the pain and desperation our frontline staff see every day shows this is still a long way off. This is especially evident in Plymouth, where the last year has seen huge numbers in the private rented sector having to turn to housing benefit to help pay the rent.
“At the root of this crisis is decades of failure to invest in the good quality social homes our local communities so obviously need – meaning there are too many people chasing too few homes.”
