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Greens launch election campaign with low cost housing pledge
The Green Party has launched its election campaign for the mayoral and council elections in Bristol today with a pledge that a Green mayor will build 8,000 homes, of which at least 2,800 of which will be affordable over the course of his term.
Green Party Mayoral candidate Tony Dyer said ‘I have now spent several months meeting with representatives from across the housing sector, from developers to investors, from housing associations to tenants organisations, and all have made it clear there has to be a radical change to the way we approach the way we deliver housing in our city. The council cannot solve this problem alone but it can play a vital role in ensuring we get the housing we need.
Tony Dyer has pledged to meet the targets at the #Bristolmayorforhomes campaign launch. The housing alliance behind #Bristolmayorforhomes includes Business West, the National Housing Federation, Acorn and Great Western. They estimate that delivering 700 affordable homes each year would add almost £30m Gross Value Add to the economy and support 629 FTE jobs annually.
The council’s Housing Land Prospectus has already identified some 80-90 hectares of council-owned or controlled land available for housing development. What is needed is the political will to insist that minimum density levels are part of the deal for the future development of this land. Cities like Bristol can no longer afford to waste any land by building at unsustainable density levels. Much loved parts of Bristol such as Horfield, Southville and Easton have built environments which if repeated on the sites owned by the council will deliver 7,500 homes including 2,600 affordable homes.
It is by working in partnership with other organisations, including those offering new and innovative solutions, that we will meet the challenge set by the #BristolMayorForHomes campaign.”
It also follows reports in the national press of government ministers accusing developers of profiting from restricted supply of new homes., following significant jumps in the profits of housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Barrett (1).
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