Harlow Council leader questioned on what progress has been made on council house building projects

News / Fri 27th Sep 2024 at 12:11pm

THE LEADER of the Harlow Alliance Party (HAP) questioned the leader of Harlow Council on what progress had been made in council housing projects.

Nicholas Taylor to Councillor Dan Swords (Leader of the Council):

Your administration has often said that 103 council homes will be built this year. We are now in September and yet there seems to be little if any evidence of works starting on sites such as at Arkwrights, Elm Hatch, Sherards House and Tye Green village.
I am aware that dozens of amendments to original Planning Applications have had to be made, but when can residents expect work to begin on each of these sites?

Reply from Councillor Dan Swords (Leader of the Council):

Thank you for your question. I note that you omit to mention the rapid progress being made at Staple Tye on the three schemes at the former Lister House Medical Centre Site, the old Council Depot and the parcel of land at Parnell Road as well as the site at Woodleys. In those schemes alone, the
council is building more council homes than this council has in the last two decades combined.

All other sites within the programme are progressing through the required pre- construction phase and will move into main construction over the coming weeks. The time frame for delivery of all schemes remains unchanged.

I am proud that this council is delivering new council homes for local families, and I am sure that you will welcome that too.

10 Comments for Harlow Council leader questioned on what progress has been made on council house building projects:

Gary Roberts

2024-09-27 13:19:38

Can anyone tell me the timescales for these new homes? I must have been sleeping when they were given.

Stuart

2024-09-27 14:00:35

So.......are 103 council houses going to be built this year or not? Built means finished, not under construction. Pretty simple question - must have missed the answer.

Nicholas Taylor

2024-09-27 14:46:46

Gary and Stuart, the response from Councillors in Harlow are usually very vague. Whether at local level or at Westminster, polititians must go on a "how to avoid giving direct answers to questions" course. Stuart, the actual answer is no.The full story here and why I raised the subject is that residents were first shown a plan for the re-development of land at Tye Green village on 2008 and more recently with a new plan in May 2022. At Elm Hatch a planning application was made in 2018, which was abandoned, with a new plan coming forward in May 2022. At Sherards House an application was made over a year ago. In each case the land has lain derelict. The Conservatives claimed that the council would build 103 council homes this year but more recently it has become known that the first of these (at Staple Tye) will not be completed until August 2025. With this in mind it will be many years until the hundreds of council homes promised by the Conservatives will be built (there is more than one phase). Sounds familiar to the claims of building a new hospital and Public Health England move to Harlow.

Stuart J

2024-09-27 19:54:57

Faster they are built and occupied, the quicker, when the right time has passed, they can be sold off, under the right to buy and for the majority of them, brought by investors and put straight back on to the private rental market at 3 or more times the social rent.

AB

2024-09-28 05:56:41

Paraphrasing the reply then, some houses are being built but the target will not be achieved.

gary roberts

2024-09-28 09:23:17

Stuart J, that is why the right to buy council homes should be abolished in England in-line with Scotland and Wales.

Stuart J

2024-09-28 15:20:28

Agreed Gary, it should be stopped, until the Council housing stock is back up to pre right to buy levels. What the use of selling these Council properties off faster than they’re being replaced. It’s a no brainier, but the powers to be can’t or don’t want to see it.

Tony Wiseman

2024-09-28 20:18:53

The hoarding at the Tye Green site says completion is at the end of Autumn this year, so 30 November 2024 at the latest!

David Forman

2024-09-29 11:37:26

The selling of newly built council homes is not as quick as Gary and Stuart suggest. As the Local Government Association explain: "The cost floor protection limits the discount on Right to Buy properties to ensure that the purchase price of the property does not fall below what has been spent on building, buying, repairing or maintaining it over a certain period of time. That period of time is currently 15 years." However, the LGA wants increased requirements to considerably delay the sale. See article at https://www.local.gov.uk/parliament/briefings-and-responses/right-buy-position-statement

David Forman

2024-09-29 11:40:19

Perhaps Angela Rayner and the rest of the Labour luvvies could start getting their act together over Right to Buy. The Local Government Association's amendments seem to me to be a good starting point for debate.