Manifesto - Quality, secure and affordable housing
"It's an exciting and crucial time for housing in Norwich. We're set to build our own council housing again, which we haven't done for twenty years. As a start, 150 homes are set to be built by the City Council over the next three years. My colleagues and I have also recently amended the City Council's three year budget plan and have secured £690,000 to be put into energy efficiency for homes across the City. We're working to get a decent Community Engagement strategy so that tenants and people across Norwich can really feel included in the democratic process. These are important times." Councillor Tom Llewellyn, Housing Spokesperson for the Green Party City Councillors.
Green thinking on housing
Housing is a basic human need. Good housing supports psychological and physical well being. Without it individuals can be lead diminished lives where they find it hard to fulfill their potential. Green councilors will work for all those in housing need to be supplied with affordable and secure accommodation. We also need to provide homes with excellent energy efficiency because home energy use is a big driver of dangerous climate change.
Click here to read the Green Party National Policy on housing.
The way forward
A Green Council would:
- Require all new developments to include a high proportion of affordable housing (up to 50 per cent).
- Work to successfully build the new 150 (Council built) homes, and to expand the project from 2011 onwards.
- Increase the energy efficiency of the current housing stock and in private sector housing in Norwich.
- Continue to develop Norwich's affordable warmth strategy and ensure that its objectives are implemented on time.
- Build all new social housing in Norwich to 'code for sustainable homes' level 4, reaching level 5 by 2012 and level 6 by 2016.
- Encourage shared ownership and housing cooperatives, alongside rent control over the private sector.
- Inspect all Council homes and gardens annually, and ensure necessary support is provided for their upkeep.
- Set up a specialised Void Property Team to deal with the problem of empty homes.
- Prevent homelessness through early intervention and prevent repeated homelessness.
- Increase the housing options available to homeless people.
- Continue to lobby Parliament for right to keep profits from the 'Right to Buy' scheme.
- Consider the spending of housing capital funds on a case-by-case basis. This will free more funding for measures such as security and energy efficiency.
- Engage TRAs and community groups in decision making, to foster involvement, inclusion and trust.
- Bring more maintenance contracts in-house and make sure that any contractors provide a decent and reliable service.
- Bring housing policies under local participatory democratic control.
- We will work to make sure that tenants don't have to pay more than they need to for digital TV.
We all have the right to be included in our communities. Inadequate housing immediately isolates us from our own communities. Political 'will' is one of the most powerful ways to change this.