100 signatures reached
To: Adur District Council (ADC)
Don’t sell off public land in Adur
-Don’t push ahead with selling off public land like the Civic Centre to private developers.
-Land managed by local authorities on behalf of the public should remain in public ownership and be put to use to benefit the community e.g. housing, employment and community service.
-Please use your powers to borrow money at a low rate of interest to develop the Civic Centre site for well designed, high quality, low carbon emissions public housing that can be rented out as a mix of social rent and living rent.*
-Please use your borrowing powers to invest in creating future revenue streams and long term financial assets for the people of Adur whilst meeting local housing needs.
* https://labour.org.uk/issues/housing-for-the-many/
Why is this important?
The foundation of a cohesive and thriving community is people’s ability to live in decent, secure homes.
There are over 900 households on ADC’s housing list who need to be able to access housing at well below market rents.
Between April 2018 and December 2018, 50 households in Adur were placed into emergency accommodation.
The Conservative Government’s definition of affordable rent at 80% market value does not tally with real wages of the local workforce.
People who live in public housing should not be stigmatised. 42% of households are in work, 28% are retired, 7% unemployed, 93% are British nationals**
Public land managed by councils should not be considered out of bounds for public housing because they are sited in desirable locations.
Until 2019, Adur District Council has not built any public housing for 30 years.
ADC has very little land to develop and is currently assessing council garage compounds as sites to develop therefore recognise that they need land.
** http://benefittosociety.co.uk/campaign-research/
Further reading
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/20/council-houses-were-once-a-glory-of-the-public-realm-lets-return-to-those-days
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-new-generation-of-council-housing
https://www.socialhousing.co.uk/insight/insight/is-lifting-the-council-borrowing-cap-good-news-for-has-58524
http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/news/latest-news/lga-offers-financial-support-for-council-house-building.aspx
