AFFORDABLE HOUSING-what does that mean in a poor area?
AFFORDABLE HOUSING?-what does that mean in a poor area
The recent article in "The Guardian"(6/7/2018), was in some ways an improvement in the way Lower Falinge has been portrayed in the past. The interviews were respectful, and the people interviewed came across well as a result.
So, pleasing from that perspective. What it failed to deal with, however, was the problems that regeneration will present- understandably so from the perspective of RBH. And the main aspect of that will be affordability.
Now one of the most egregious elements of Lower Falinge media coverage in the past was the way it was labelled a so-called "benefits blackspot", due to the proportion of residents in receipt of benefits- a way for successive governments, Labour, Coalition,and Conservative,to cover for their brutal economic policies in the guise of "reforms". The figures were somewhat skewed by the presence of large homeless hostels in the ward, and since their demolition, the latest 2015 Indices of Deprivation show an improvement.
However,this improvement can be seen as relative. Lower Falinge is still amongst the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in the country. There are more people working, but a higher proportion than nationally are still in receipt of tax credits and housing benefits, as a high percentage of those jobs are minimum wage. There's a large proportion in receipt of disability benefits, who are either unable to work, or who would need the sort of intensive,consistant financial and practical support to help them get and maintain employment that successive governments, with their hostility towards the poor, have been entirely unwilling to give.
And I may be being a little cynical here, but particular ongoing difficulties with refuse collection and repairs to empty properties, were suddenly attended to just before the reporters came to the estate, after weeks of residents complaints not being dealt with in a satisfactory manner.
The movement of people onto Universal Credit from other benefits will also create problems.
In areas where it has already happened,80% plus have found themselves in rent arrears, and eviction rates have gone up. Now,as Rochdale has now gone 'full service', you can expect a rise in both .
Then we have the amount of 'affordable' homes being built nationally, the percentage of which has actually fallen.
We also have what is defined as 'affordable', which is complex and variable. For instance,'affordable' rent is defined as 80% of local market rent, whereas 'social' rents are nationally determined. The formulas are muddled, inordinately complex, and lead to inequities.
And there is the question of developers being able to evade the building of affordable properties, something they are doing with impunity throughout Greater Manchester, where most 'affordable' properties have been purchased by people from outside the area, because they have been unaffordable to the vast majority of people living within those areas.
It's one thing being optimistic about the future, but it's quite another being disingenous about the scale and type of problems that have to be overcome to achieve what we want. And that will involve less brownnosing of government ministers, and more telling of home truths. It would also be helpful if we had a more capable body of councellors who were willing to support their constituents.
Now one of the most egregious elements of Lower Falinge media coverage in the past was the way it was labelled a so-called "benefits blackspot", due to the proportion of residents in receipt of benefits- a way for successive governments, Labour, Coalition,and Conservative,to cover for their brutal economic policies in the guise of "reforms". The figures were somewhat skewed by the presence of large homeless hostels in the ward, and since their demolition, the latest 2015 Indices of Deprivation show an improvement.
However,this improvement can be seen as relative. Lower Falinge is still amongst the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in the country. There are more people working, but a higher proportion than nationally are still in receipt of tax credits and housing benefits, as a high percentage of those jobs are minimum wage. There's a large proportion in receipt of disability benefits, who are either unable to work, or who would need the sort of intensive,consistant financial and practical support to help them get and maintain employment that successive governments, with their hostility towards the poor, have been entirely unwilling to give.
And I may be being a little cynical here, but particular ongoing difficulties with refuse collection and repairs to empty properties, were suddenly attended to just before the reporters came to the estate, after weeks of residents complaints not being dealt with in a satisfactory manner.
The movement of people onto Universal Credit from other benefits will also create problems.
In areas where it has already happened,80% plus have found themselves in rent arrears, and eviction rates have gone up. Now,as Rochdale has now gone 'full service', you can expect a rise in both .
Then we have the amount of 'affordable' homes being built nationally, the percentage of which has actually fallen.
We also have what is defined as 'affordable', which is complex and variable. For instance,'affordable' rent is defined as 80% of local market rent, whereas 'social' rents are nationally determined. The formulas are muddled, inordinately complex, and lead to inequities.
And there is the question of developers being able to evade the building of affordable properties, something they are doing with impunity throughout Greater Manchester, where most 'affordable' properties have been purchased by people from outside the area, because they have been unaffordable to the vast majority of people living within those areas.
It's one thing being optimistic about the future, but it's quite another being disingenous about the scale and type of problems that have to be overcome to achieve what we want. And that will involve less brownnosing of government ministers, and more telling of home truths. It would also be helpful if we had a more capable body of councellors who were willing to support their constituents.
