North Wales MS and Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning, Mark Isherwood, has criticised the Labour Welsh Government today for failing to take action to tackle the housing crisis in North Wales, despite warnings over 20 years ago.
Raising the matter with the First Minister in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood also warned that current housing targets in Wales will not be met.
In a question asking the First Minister what she is doing to ensure that the Welsh Government is giving priority to resolving the housing crisis in Gwynedd, he said:
“The then Assembly’s North Wales Regional Committee took evidence from people in Gwynedd on the affordable housing crisis in October 2003, over 20 years ago, when deliverable solutions were proposed to us, which were ignored by the Labour Welsh Government then.
“Your Welsh Government’s only housing target is to build 20,000 new, low-carbon social homes for rent during this five-year Senedd term. However, only 3,120 were completed in Wales by social landlords in the first three years of this Senedd term. So, you changed the goalposts, adding some homes that are not new builds and not low carbon, and also homes for intermediate rent and shared ownership, but even with this, Audit Wales still expects you to fall short of your target without additional funding.
“So, now that former Minister Lee Waters has been drafted in to help you hit the housing target, will you now be moving the goalposts further, or how will you be responding to proposals by social housing providers in Wales to remove the barriers, to deliver longer term sustainable funding, and to ensure that they are still building new homes?”
In her response, the First Minister insisted “there’s a huge amount being done in the housing space”.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Isherwood said:
“I’m not sure the people of Gwynedd or those living elsewhere in Wales would agree with the First Minister!
“As I have previously stated, no singular initiative will be able to solve the Housing Crisis in Wales and only a whole Housing sector approach can deliver the mix of high quality housing that people need, recognising the vital role of the social and private rented sectors, housing developers and housing support providers in housing provision.”