Local housing providers, the council and developers, together with building and design professionals, have held their first summit aimed at tackling the housing crisis in Bath and North East Somerset.
Victor da Cunha, Chief Executive of Curo, and Wayne Hemingway MBE, founder of Red or Dead | Photo © Curo
The Housing Summit on Tuesday 9th July, which was organised by housing association and house-builder Curo and Bath & North East Somerset Council, attracted more than 100 people, including speakers from Places for People, Alliance Homes, Bromford Housing, Avon Pension Fund, Bath Preservation Trust and Homes England.
Victor da Cunha, chief executive of Curo, set out the challenge facing housing providers.
He said: “Bath and North East Somerset is an area with high property prices and below-average earnings.
“Average house prices are around £430,000 while average private monthly rents are around £1,549. Demand for social housing outstrips supply – currently 5,500 families are on the waiting list, while only 700 were housed last year.
“While we are building hundreds of homes every year, there’s so much more needed.”
Councillor Matt McCabe, B&NES cabinet member for built environment, housing and sustainable development, told the summit: “Housing is broken. We can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again. Today, we’re asking all participants in the housing system: what can we do to effect change?”
He added: “We’re committed to working collaboratively with the sector and to helping improve people’s lives with the right homes in the right places.”
The council has embarked on a house-building programme and says it is committed to improving the availability of affordable housing, accessible to local jobs and services, as set out in its recent economic strategy.
Mr da Cunha said the new government has brought housing to the forefront of the national political agenda. “Early signs suggest that they look like they mean business on housing.
“It meaningfully mattered as an issue in the general election for the first time I can remember. In the first 72 hours we have seen them seize the day with announcements on house-building. Housing providers and councils need to capitalise on this momentum.”
Wayne Hemingway MBE, founder of Red or Dead and Hemingway Design, also spoke at the summit.
He highlighted the need for radical solutions to issues such as land acquisition and blocks to planning. “We need to bring back local developers,” he told delegates.
Curo and the council are now working on an action plan. “I’ve been asked by the council to chair the housing pillar of their new economic strategy,” said Mr da Cunha.
“Our task now is to corral this energy, work with the local community and create a plan that delivers at scale the affordable housing local people need.”
