Dagenham and Rainham MP Working Hard To Improve Housing Policy To Help her Constituents.

The Dagenham and Rainham Member of Parliament Margaret Mullane writes her regular column for the Havering Daily.

Housing is one of the reasons I got into politics, it is important to me, it is important to my constituents, and it underpins almost every aspect of our lives.

Since the start of this year I have been working with my team, analysing housing casework and new development plans to determine how I can influence national policy to improve the lives, and the housing experience of my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham. I have been looking at three main areas.

Firstly, I believe that social housing at traditional council rents should form the bedrock of our housing offer as we begin to build 1.5 million homes, but in Dagenham and Rainham, even at social rents, this can’t mean tower blocks of one-bedroom flats.

When the Becontree estate was built the planners were thinking of the future, they delivered good quality homes and a community where people lived, worked, raised a family, and grew old. Overcrowding is one of the top issues when it comes to housing in my constituency, and despite the scale of development, there is still a severe shortage of three and four-bedroom homes.

Secondly, the mantra of our new Secretary of State for Housing, “build baby build”, is all well and good but what about infrastructure. Every time a new planning application goes in locally my questions are the same, where are the GPs, schools, dentists, transport links, open space, leisure and community facilities? I am worried that without the services people rely on we are building the social problems of tomorrow.

Thirdly, the aftermath of the Spectrum Building fire really shone a light on leasehold legislation. A lack of transparency and communication, extortionate service charges, and when disasters happen, leaseholders are often left in limbo without the support afforded to tenants or freeholders.

My work in these areas has seen me join many All-Party Parliamentary Groups centred on housing, to try and get the issues affecting my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham on the national agenda.

I am constantly beating the drum for infrastructure, like the delivery of Beam Park Station, and am pressing for family homes and sheltered accommodation to be included on all future developments. I have also tabled an Early Day Motion (an expression of opinion) urging the government to grant greater rights to existing leaseholders when tragedies happen.

I don’t want Dagenham and Rainham to be a place people stop-off on their way to somewhere better. I want our area to be a place where people can put down roots, where the children and grandchildren of existing residents can afford to live, and where communities can thrive.

That is why housing is at the heart of my work as the Member of Parliament.

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