Local MP Questions Social Housing Provision In Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry invites Minister to examine social housing for Bankside development

North Oxfordshire MP, Tony Baldry, has questioned the levels of social housing available to low income and working families in the county. 

Tony Baldry referred to the recent Bankside proposal at Bodicote for over 1,000 homes, which the Government failed to call in for a planning enquiry despite a huge petition by local residents, and invited the Minister responsible, Yvette Cooper MP, to examine social housing provisions currently lacking under the development. 

Tony Baldry, speaking during the Housing Corporation Bill debate yesterday, also called for shared equity schemes tailored to Oxfordshire to help working families get the secured tenancy that social housing provides. 

In response, the Minister Jim Fitzpatrick MP offered his Department to work with Cherwell District Council on social housing provision.

Tony Baldry MP said:

"Those of us who are fortunate enough to own our own homes know that one benefit of home ownership.  Under the Bill, the Housing Corporation has to cover Oxfordshire.  My worry is that at the moment, there is no sign of its covering Oxfordshire—it is invisible so far as Oxfordshire is concerned.  Why is that so?"

"We have a huge housing development at Bankside.  I shall be interested to see how much new social housing comes to that development as a consequence of the planning system.  I suspect that very little will do so.  As a result of all that, working families on low incomes with children are finding it extremely difficult to gain access to secure housing."

"I therefore hope that we will see shared equity policies that will enable working families in Oxfordshire, as elsewhere, to get the secured tenancy that social housing provides, rather than their having to live for ever in the private rented sector. Such temporary accommodation may well enable social mobility by allowing people to move, find a job and get settled, but many families want then to move into more permanent tenancy. At the moment, such tenancy is being denied them in areas such as mine."

The Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick MP, responded:

"He raised serious concerns about the success of the negotiations between the local authority and the developers, and about the lack of adequate provision in respect of new developments. If I may be so bold, I should like to suggest that, were the officers of his local authority to seek assistance from the officials at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, we would be very happy to have a dialogue with them to ensure that they are well prepared to get the best possible deal on future developments."