Last week saw the fourth anniversary of the tragic death of 72 people at Grenfell Tower. None of us could ever forget seeing the images of the building engulfed in flames. Given my role as the Shadow Minister for Climate Change, which includes housing policy, I dedicated my spokespersons questions to challenging the Welsh Government on building safety.
Just a week after Grenfell the Welsh Government informed Wales that we should “learn the lessons and act upon them”. The Welsh Government has not delivered quickly enough on that determination. Even a cross-party Committee in the Senedd wrote earlier this year that: “At times we have been frustrated by the slow progress in responding to some of these critical and urgent issues”.
In fact, this month a law firm has threatened to initiate High Court proceedings and to seek a judicial review of Welsh Government handling of financial support to assist with fire safety problems in high rise flats. This goes to highlight the desperation many residents feel especially as they are literally trapped in unsafe properties paying huge amounts of service charge.
In an effort to assist, I have pushed for a clear timeframe as to when the fire safety fund for existing buildings will be available, and challenged the Minister for Climate Change on the fact that whilst the Welsh Government has received £58million from the UK Government, around £15.4million has gone missing and seemingly spent on a purpose other than building safety.
I also undertook work on the wider housing crisis facing Aberconwy and Wales. Wales has seen the biggest house price growth in the UK, up by an average of 11% in the past year; offers are being made before viewings; and we all know that many locals are simply unable to rent or buy a home in their own community. Whilst there is no simple solution, there are many steps the Welsh Government can take.
We could build social housing in communities where the crisis is at its worst, and then restore the Right-to-Buy in Wales, empowering those local people to own a home in their community after ten years, and committing to reinvesting sale proceeds into more social housing. There needs to be a more attractive environment for builders to invest in Wales. However, in reaching that aim we must respect communities and democracy by ensuring that all sites allocated in local development plans are built on before any contingency or other locations are considered for planning applications.
Another area where action is required is on tackling the fact that the total number of chargeable long term empty properties has remained at around 25,000 annually during the last Senedd. Welsh Government could help address this by extending Help to Buy to include buildings in need of renovation. Those are only a few examples of the policies I am pushing in the Senedd so to try and see constituents supported in buying or renting a home.
Should you already have a sanctuary of your own, you may be interested in contacting Greenhouse Energy Ltd. Further to a recent meeting with the North Wales based business I understand that they have the ability to apply Energy Efficient Upgrade Grants and install to homeowners, private landlords, private tenants, social landlords, and social tenants. For more information call 01244 637410.
Should you have any questions or concerns that you wish to raise with me call 01492 871198 or email [email protected]
Photo: by AbsolutVision on Unsplash
