A councillor has welcomed the news that Lichfield District Council is seeking to access funds from Homes England to help build more social rented housing.
Cllr Colin Ball, Labour representative for Curborough ward, said the move to become an ‘investment partner’ would allow the local authority to help tackle the need for such accommodation in Lichfield and Burntwood.
Homes England provides funding for registered providers – formerly known as housing associations – to build properties.
Cllr Ball said:
“I’m really pleased that Cllr Angela Lax, as cabinet member for regulatory, housing and health, seems finally to have listened to me.
“I’ve been pushing for more genuinely affordable rented homes in Lichfield ever since I was elected to the district and city council for the Curborough ward for Labour in 2018.
“So far, sadly, I haven’t had much success in getting the Conservatives to support this until now.
“I’m hoping that this is a much needed change in direction and that it will lead to a change in policy for the council’s housing company too, away from building housing for sale and towards much needed genuinely affordable housing for social rent.”
Cllr Colin Ball, Lichfield District Council
Cllr Ball said that the local authority needed to commit to a move away from the current housing policy.
“I’ve never really understood the obsession to date for the Conservative-led district council to build for sale.
“There are so many developers locally building for sale properties and the Council’s Housing Company could never have built homes for any less than these developers.
“So, I now call on Cllr Lax to commit to building genuinely affordable rented housing as quickly as possible.”
Cllr Colin Ball, Lichfield District Council
