By Iain Gray
HOUSING waiting lists have ballooned to their worst level in a decade, with more than 2,000 locals who should be top of the queue stuck waiting for a home.
That’s according to representatives of housing associations, who say that Ards and North Down is going through its ‘worst cost of living crisis in decades’ – and while demand for social homes is skyrocketing, Stormont budget cuts mean few new properties are being built in the borough.
Across Northern Ireland as a whole, more than 47,000 people are on waiting lists for homes, around three-quarters of whom are deemed to be in ‘housing stress’ – meaning they should be at the front of the queue for a house.
In Ards and North Down, 2,267 people are currently listed as being in housing stress, yet are still stuck on waiting lists.
Meanwhile only 120 new homes were built in the borough over the last financial year, with a further 169 currently under construction – nowhere near enough to cover ballooning local demand.
That’s according to Seamus Leheny, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations, and Clanmil Housing Association chief executive Carol McTaggart.
They delivered a state of the borough address to a meeting of Ards and North Down Council last week, and their information made for some concerning listening.
Mr Leheny revealed that almost two-fifths of people applying for social housing in this borough are aged over 60, a figure he expects to go up due to an ageing population.
“The demand on housing for people over 55 will intensify in the years ahead,” he said, encouraging the council to bear that in mind while making planning decisions.
And Ms McTaggart said that one of their ‘key asks’ is for the council to support calls for Stormont to provide more money to build social housing.
During last week’s meeting, alderman Robert Adair said he’d ‘never seen a housing crisis as bad’ in 13 years as a councillor, though suggested that more flexibility in house sizes could help the problem.
“In my constituency, a lot of the homes built are three-bedroom, but a lot of people are looking for two-bedroom for smaller families,” he said.
“There’s also a lot of pensioners who’d like to give up their Housing Executive home and move to a smaller home, but that facility isn’t there. If there was a greater spread, it would help.”
Ms McTaggart replied that although housing associations are ‘building for families, for singles, for older people’, budget cuts mean fewer homes are being constructed for every group in society.
“You talk about freeing up family homes, and moving older people into dedicated homes; because the supply is not there, it’s making that very challenging,” she said.
Other councillors called on housing associations to keep on top of repairs and look at bringing empty homes back into use, with Ms McTaggart replying that the latter also depends on available budgets.
