MP hosts housing summit in Warrington South

WARRINGTON South MP Faisal Rashid hosted a housing summit to discuss some of the pressing housing issues facing the constituency.
He chaired the event, at Bold Street Methodist Church and the panel included Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Jones, leader of Warrington Borough Council Russ Bowden, Torus chief executive Steve Coffey and the founder of the National Leasehold Campaign, Katie Kendrick.
Over the last nine years, private rents have soared, rough sleeping has more than doubled, home-ownership is down sharply for young people with almost 900,000 fewer young homeowners since 2010 and 30,000 fewer social rented homes built a year.
Mr Rashid organised the event as a forum to discuss any local housing concerns – and to give residents the opportunity to put their questions to the panellists.
Sarah Jones, talked about the steps Labour would take to address the various issues in Government.
Panellists talked about a wide range of issues, including the need for more social and affordable housing, the leasehold scandal and Warrington Borough Council’s Local Plan. An audience question and answer session followed the panellists’ contributions.
Afterwards, Mr Rashid said: “Across the country, we are facing a housing crisis. Many people are struggling to afford to rent or to buy a decent home. This is leading to overcrowding, evictions, rent arrears and homelessness. Tackling the housing crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Public concern about housing is now around the highest level it has been in 40 years.
“Many people are finding that however much they save, it is getting harder to buy that first home. However many hours they might work or how much more they earn, rents still eat up more of their pay. And for those who do manage to buy a first home, many are finding themselves trapped in costly leasehold agreements. Over the last nine years, the Government has failed to tackle these housing problems.
“The summit was a good opportunity to hear directly from local residents about their housing concerns.  I will be feeding the comments raised throughout the event back to the Government for a response, to the Council in response to the Local Plan consultation and back to the Labour Party to help shape housing policies coming forward. And as the local MP I will continue to campaign for action on these crucial housing issues.”