Lewes councillors have unanimously backed calls for “urgent action” on funding for council housing.
At a full council meeting on Monday (September 30), Lewes District Council debated a motion, which called for lobbying around the funding of both council housing and homelessness services.
The motion, tabled by Green Party councillor Lucy Agace, called on council leader Zoe Nicholson to write to local MPs and urge them to raise the issue with the government.
Introducing her motion, Cllr Agace said: “The financial model for England’s council housing system is broken, through a mixture of unfunded new requirements, soaring costs and uncapped income.
“On top of this, our aim is to invest in robust repairs and maintenance and make our existing homes more energy efficient. But without critical changes to government policy it will be difficult for us to achieve this.
“We share the government’s passion for social housing and a determination to end the housing crisis, but what we need is the means to build more council houses. This council has built 200 in the last five years and it could do many more.”
Cllr Agace went on to point to the pressures council face in temporary housing costs, arguing that councils needed more funding to address homelessness.
Cllr Agace also pointed to the council’s previous endorsement of a report into England’s council housing stock commissioned by Southwark Council. That report, titled Securing the Future of Council Housing, set out a five-point action plan, which included new funding and the phasing out of Right to Buy.
The motion saw unanimous support from the council’s other political parties, with Liberal Democrat group leader Stephen Gauntlett and Labour’s Laurence O’Connor (the council’s lead member for planning and infrastructure) both speaking in favour.
Following a short discussion, the motion was passed unanimously.
