‘Good housing as a basic right for all’ is the key message at the heart of a 20-year vision for the future of housing associations set out by Stuart Ropke at the Community Housing Cymru (CHC) conference in Cardiff.
The CHC chief executive began by calling for a silence to remember Carl Sargeant but went on to call for a review of affordable housing policy in Wales to enable housing to achieve its full potential to improve people’s lives and the places in which they live.
The 20-year vision includes a commitment to double the sector’s delivery rate by building 75,000 new homes and creating 150,000 jobs by 2036 and to make good housing a basic right for all in Wales by establishing housing as the starting point for successful lives and successful places.
The conference also saw the first major speech from new housing and regeneration minister Rebecca Evans.
After paying tribute to the work of her predecessor, the minister told delegates that housing is right at the heart of Welsh Government’s plans. ‘Social housing is a fundamental priority for me and it remains a priority for the government as a whole,’ she said.
She added that she also wanted to see more council houses. ‘I’m willing to consider all options including moving around borrowing capacity from those who are unable to build to those that can.’
CHC’s Housing Horizons vision also commits housing associaitons to:
- Spending 95p of every pound in Wales
- Exploring the establishment of a housing innovation hub to enable the development of flexible homes to meet people’s changing needs
- Ensuring that all housing association homes will meet near-zero-carbon standard.
The call for a housing policy review and launch of the vision came as CHC released new figures revealing the economic impact Welsh associations are already making.
Stuart Ropke said:
‘Our vision for Wales in 2036 is one where good housing is a basic right for all. Housing is the cornerstone of a stable community – it affects our health, the connections we make within communities and, fundamentally, the prosperity of our places.
‘From doubling the delivery rate of affordable homes to ensuring that the right services are built around these homes, it’s crucial that we establish the most effective policy environment to create a solid foundation for current and future generations. This is why we need a review of housing policy in Wales.’