100 signatures reached
To: Monmouthshire County Council
Homes for Monmouthshire Heroes
We are asking that Monmouthshire County Council implements the plan for Council Housing which was agreed in principle in 2018, to build high quality, low energy homes for affordable rent in the county so that our key workers and young people aren't forced to live out of the area.
Why is this important?
If you are a nurse, care worker or retail worker in Monmouthshire then you probably can't afford to live here. Unless you are in priority need you probably won't get social housing, and with around 3000 households on the waiting list you'll be advised to rent privately. With soaring local rents and short term tenancies this isn't a good basis for making a life or for raising a family.
In 2018, County Councillor Dimitri Batrouni, leader of the Labour group on Monmouthshire County Council, put forward a practical plan for more social rented homes in Monmouthshire, using some of the land holdings that the Council and other public bodies own. The plan was agreed by all parties, including the ruling Conservative group, who then quietly shelved it.
In the wake of Covid 19 we believe that the people we all rely on, our heroic key workers, and also the many disabled and vulnerable local people, deserve better. Everyone needs a secure, low carbon, affordable home. They must not continue to be pushed out of the area where they work and belong by inflated house prices.
The County Council may say that they have a long term plan for private developers to build affordable housing through planning gain, but we've all seen those promises watered down and not delivered, and with the current recession and uncertainty those homes may never be built.
The Council may also say they no longer have the money, and with local authority budgets under pressure we know that it will be hard to find. But with determination, and the support of the Welsh Government, we believe that the affordable, low carbon, secure rented homes the county needs can be delivered, creating local construction jobs in the process.
If you agree, sign our petition, and please share it on social media.
For more information go to www.h4mh.org.uk or to get involved email [email protected]. We want to hear your story.
