Thirty
years in the making
I
can’t describe the excitement amongst my colleagues when the council announced
that it was going to be building its first new council houses for more than
thirty years.
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Sue (centre) and I were delighted to join Emma Reynolds MP last October. |
With
more than 12,000 on the waiting list – there’s a chronic shortage of council
housing in our city. There are a plethora of reasons for this – the evolution
of Right To Buy being one – but I’ll leave the whys and wherefors to the
politicians to debate.
What
I do know though is that the 40 or so new homes being built at Thompson Avenue
in the Parkfields area of the city are going to make wonderful homes for the
families who received their keys earlier this week.
I’ve
watched with real interest as the site has developed over the past few months
and back in October I went for a tour around the development with the Chair of
our Board, Sue Roberts MBE. We’re going to be managing the new homes so it was
quite fitting that the day we went was the day before her wedding anniversary
(she won’t thank me if I say how long ago her wedding was!) But what was
fascinating is that her wedding reception took place at the pub where the new
houses will now stand. I thought that was quite fitting. Council housing must run
through Sue’s DNA!
It
was lovely to see the new homes being built. They were modern and energy
efficient with lovely garden areas and I’m sure there’ll make wonderful family
homes for many years to come. But of course what we really need now is more.
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Now of course Wolverhampton Homes is apolitical - but with less than 100 days until the general election you’ll no doubt be getting
letters, phone calls and leaflets from your local candidates. It’s no up to me
to say who you should vote for (but please make sure you go out and vote for
someone) but if you get the chance to speak to your candidates ask them what
their views are on the housing situation and what they’d do to help solve the
crisis. I’ll certainly be asking candidates who knock on my door that very
question.