Liverpool aims for affordability with fresh housing strategy
The proportion of affordable homes built in Liverpool will double to 20%, if a draft strategy being discussed at cabinet next week is successful.
Partnering with Homes England, redeveloping the festival gardens site and releasing council land are all cited as ways to grow the pipeline of homes.
Cllr Sam East, Cabinet member for housing at Liverpool City Council, said: “This draft strategy reflects feedback we’ve already gathered which highlighted overwhelming support for providing more homes for social rent, improving energy efficiency and insulation on homes, and tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
“We now want to hear views on the specific proposals within this draft strategy so we can improve and sharpen these proposals.”
If approved at cabinet on Tuesday 4 June, the draft plan will begin eight weeks of consultation. It proposes 8,000 homes completing in the city in the next four years, at a rate of 20% affordable.
There are currently 15,500 households in Liverpool on the waiting list for affordable homes.
In the past five years, 10,720 homes were built in Liverpool, around 11% of those were affordable.
While Liverpool currently does not directly build homes itself, the council said in the strategy it was exploring the idea.
The authority wants to see the pipeline widened by increasing the number of planning approvals and starts on site and completions.
Campbell Tickell advised Liverpool City Council on the draft housing strategy.
Also described in the draft strategy:
- 20% (44,000) of properties in city do not meet “decent homes” definition
- 18% of households live in fuel poverty
- City’s housing stock accounts for 33% of its carbon emissions.
A new homelessness strategy is currently being written. The city is also working on a new local plan to replace the 2022 version. Councillors hope to submit the plan to Government for independent examination in June 2025 and to adopt it by December 2026.
The council is also considering producing a student housing strategy to ‘relieve pressures on existing housing’. And publish an investment prospectus to promote development land.
Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said that meeting its targets would rely on “securing strong support from residents and stakeholders”. Robinson added: “Delivering the plan will also require intelligent collaboration with our partners, including the Combined Authority, Government and its agencies, developers, investors and housing providers.”
Ironic that Liverpool City Council has been instrumental in limiting the number of homes built by imposing height restrictions on buildings by reducing high-rise plans to stumps.
Also how many empty homes are there in Liverpool because their locations are undesirable partly due to the councils failure to repair the paving defects, remove graffiti, or sweep the streets regularly, if at all.
Liverpool has some great terraced housing blighted by the back alleys, how about a pilot project where back alleys are removed and people`s backyards extended and made private, I guarantee they would be popular, as you never see empty terraced housing in London.
As another example look at Scotland Rd where it joins Stanley Road and County Road, there are vast, empty prairies of land where affordable housing could be built, both houses and flats, in order to regenerate and repopulate that area, why does it take so long to think about it and actually get something done.
By Anonymous
There are large amounts of affordable housing in L4, 5, 6,7 and 8, as well as 9 and 15. Just go on Rightmove. Hindering the viability of schemes to make developers pay for the council’s social policies will kill the new-build market, particularly in the city centre. When will they learn?
By Anonymous
Just when it appeared LCC had started to turn a corner from the last lost decade here we go again 20% affordable housing , that’s sure to entice developers. This is the same LCC who does not allow tall buildings , and on their watch actively adopted an anti business stance. Remind me what have they achieved , cruise terminal ? Dirty scruffy city centre , nothing over 10 stories , the biggest problem for the city of Liverpool is LCC.
By Paul
Hopefully the city council will use the housing associations to deliver the new homes . They have the expertise, existing skills and record of delivery. We don’t want the city setting up another organisation as they tried with the housing company which failed dismally and a great cost .
By George
Affordable housing?
Who in their right mind would invest in new develoments of 80% houses for sale @ per property, whilst the people next door get similar properties for reduced price…
If the wheel tappers, chimney sweeps and bottle washers want affordable properties in the city centre and or North docks, they should consult their peers in the housing associations. They would soon be a rebirth of the Radcliffe Estate, and other eyesore problems in the North Liverpool.
Peel should encourage Redrow and others to create a new inner village within the proposed parkland.
Many of the buildings surrounding the Princes dock, are leasehold flats with residents who are responsible for the gentrification of this ancient area of the original Liverpool centred around the Sailors Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in the 13th century circa.
I also agree with the comments above.
By Anonymous
This is where socialism kills jobs and opportunities
By Anonymous
Exactly how many houses are the Council expecting to get on Festival Gardens? Is it worth the tens of millions that’s already been spent, and the millions more that will still be needed? Should just be made an extension to the existing park and the money be spent elsewhere on more viable sites.
By Cost per unit
@Cost per unit, £60m to create a park that they can’t maintain, don’t think so.
They have to get as many homes as they can on this site but being Liverpool they’ll bow to the pressures of the visionless or disruptive councillors and it will end up full of boring semis. This is a unique opportunity to bring some class and quality to the area but they’ll blow it.
By Anonymous