Figures show new affordable and social stock in Portsmouth growing at ‘marginal rate’

FEARS as new data shows affordable and social home stock in Portsmouth has grown at a ‘marginal rate’ have been raised, but the council has insisted it has 'ambitious plans.'
The council says it has 'ambitious' plans to build more social and affordable homes. Picture: PA WireThe council says it has 'ambitious' plans to build more social and affordable homes. Picture: PA Wire
The council says it has 'ambitious' plans to build more social and affordable homes. Picture: PA Wire

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed there were 16,357 social and affordable homes in Portsmouth in April last year – up just 0.3 per cent from 12 months earlier.

This was generally in line with the rise across England as a whole, where the figure rose by just 0.4 per cent to 4.15 million – an extra 17,000 homes.

Read More
Work begins on 260 new homes at Kingston Prison
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Portsmouth housing activist, Councillor Cal Corkery, had concerns. He said: 'The most recent figures show the social housing stock in Portsmouth to be growing at such a marginal rate that it will take decades to house all the homeless and on the waiting list.

'There are several large sites consisting of disused or underused public land in the city where we've been told for many years that thousands of homes will be built but yet not a single brick has been laid. It's time to get on and develop the significant numbers of new council homes our city desperately needs.'

In Portsmouth, 18 per cent of homes were social or affordable in 2019 – just above the national average of 17 per cent - a drop from 20 per cent in the year 2001.

The council's housing boss, Councillor Darren Sanders, explained the figures would not reflect the work currently being done. He said: 'Work on homes Portsmouth people can afford should be completed by the end of this year on the site of the former Southsea Community Centre. We have also got plans for developments in Doyle Avenue in Hilsea, the old brewery house in Hambrook Street and the records office in Museum Road.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

'We have working with a housing association to provide 183 affordable homes in Kingston Prison. We have got ambitious plans to make sure we are building more. But we are also buying back individual homes, some of them previously sold under right to buy.'

Tory spokesman for housing, Cllr Scott Payter-Harris, added 'It is unfortunate we haven't been able to hit the national average but we are against authorities that don't have the same issues as us - we have limited land supply as an island.'

According to the data there were 82,524 social and affordable homes in the Hampshire County Council area in April last year – up 1.4 per cent from 2018.

In Gosport there were 6,152 - an increase of 0.01 per cent, in Havant there were 10,503 - an increase of 0.4 per cent and in Fareham there were 4,265 - an increase of two per cent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Rent for affordable homes is set as 80 per cent of the market value, however, social homes vary depending on the council.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.