‘The stark reality is that thirteen years under the Conservatives has resulted in chronic underfunding, budget cuts and a brutal cost of living crisis’-Councillor Graham Williamson.

Cabinet Member for Regeneration Councillor Graham Williamson today writes on the housing crisis reality.

I share Councillor Taylor’s comment that everyone deserves a good quality home. It remains at the heart of my Administration’s ambitions to deliver high-quality homes and services to our residents, despite the financial challenges we are facing.

The stark reality is that thirteen years under the Conservatives has resulted in chronic underfunding and budget cuts, a brutal cost of living crisis, and has driven up demand for suitable homes across the entire country, not just Havering – a demand that local councils are struggling to meet.

We continue in these challenging times to maintain the housing stock we have, with the estates improvement programme, as well as exploring all opportunities to create more high-quality, affordable homes for Havering residents that are fit for future generations.

Councillor Taylor has however, got a lot wrong in his article, either deliberately or unknowingly, which I must address: 

– We don’t work in isolation in our Housing Strategy and will continue to find solutions such as using Royal Jubilee Court to help get people out of costly hostel and hotels. This will in turn deliver savings that we can reinvest elsewhere within the housing budget.

– Following reports of antisocial behaviour (ASB) from local residents living close to Waterloo and Queen Street, we have increased security to supplement the existing site security paid for by the Joint Venture and continue to work with the Police to monitor the situation. It would be mistaken to suggest that anti-social behaviour in this area was caused by the development site.  The fact is that the site lies on the edge of a town centre which has always experienced some anti-social behaviour, which Councillor Taylor already should be aware of as he has access to the crime statistics for the area.

– The developer for the Seedbed Centre is a private developer just like the former ice rink site next to Queen’s Hospital, it isn’t Havering Council.

– The underused Como Street car park is one of a number of sites that the Council hopes to see redeveloped and which form part of its disposals programme.  There has already been consultation on the proposed change of use from car parking to housing as well as the proposed appropriation of the land. 

– All the present and pending developments were inherited from the previous Administration.

– Whilst there is an aspiration for 35% affordable housing (AH) on developments most have delivered less because the schemes would not be viable because AH delivers far lower returns.

It’s easy for Councillor Taylor to sit in opposition and say that he doesn’t want high-rises in Romford, and I also often hear from some residents that they don’t want us to build on scrubland or green belt either. But the hard fact is that people need somewhere to live, and as our demographics change, we have a duty to those residents. 

If we don’t build ‘outwards’ then we do need to build ‘upwards’ in order to ease the demand for housing in the borough. This also dictates the type of homes we can build too. It means more apartments and flats with communal public spaces, rather than houses with private gardens, in locations that are well served by public transport – rail and buses – and is appropriate in planning policy terms to build at a higher density.

From a strategic planning perspective, we have the Romford Masterplan, which we have updated and will release very soon (after being held back by the previous Administration for eight years!) and will sit under the Local Plan (which is also being refreshed). These plans will give us greater power to shape the borough.

Romford is often the first choice for developers as the borough’s main town with established transport links. We have a responsibility to explore all opportunities to create more affordable homes, and to also make sure these developments deliver more social housing to benefit our residents – as well as boosting local infrastructure with schools and medical centres to serve new residents.

Councillor Taylor refers to Waterloo and Queen Street part of the 12 Estates programme with Wates. This scheme was paused in the middle of last year following the Government’s announcement of changes to the fire safety regulations. The recent announcement concerning the transition period is welcome news but his government is yet to provide full clarity on the regulations, including a long awaited update to Part B (Fire) of the Building Regulations.

As you would expect, the joint venture team from Havering Council and Wates are working hard to ensure that we build to a design that meets all the regulatory requirements so that our future tenants will feel safe, happy and comfortable in their new homes. We anticipate an update on this in March.  

In addition, Havering Council continues to move forward with the Bridge Close development in Romford, currently at planning submission stage. The development will include a primary school and health services, as well as community and business space, plus more affordable homes for Romford. Once again, a proportion of the properties will also be available for Council tenants to rent, as well as shared-ownership homes to help people get on the property ladder.

It’s either worryingly naive of Councillor Taylor to oversimplify what is an incredibly complex housing situation, or he’s just playing dishonest politics as we head into an election year.

He seems to suggest that we are not doing everything in our power to look for solutions across the entire borough to alleviate the housing demand and pressures on our residents. The sad reality is that while we push through existing developments, they will not be enough to meet demand. 

We need to explore more options, as well as ensure that we maintain the housing stock we currently own, if we are to have homes fit for current and future Havering residents. 

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