2.7 per cent rise in council rents approved

Blackpool needs to “end the scandal” of having one of the lowest levels of social housing in the country with 12,000 households currently on the waiting list.

That was the message as council house rents were increased by 2.7 per cent which a meeting was told was required if the resort was to continue to invest in its social housing.

Coun Neal Brookes, cabinet member for adult social care on the Labour controlled council, added the rent rise would also be used to ensure homes were not blighted by damp and mould.

He told the council’s budget meeting, which agreed the rent rise: “It will allow us to continue to invest in our ageing council housing stock and turn around void properties more quickly.

“We will continue to address damp and mould issues as quickly as possible and complete all repairs promptly, and continue to ensure decent accommodation for generations to come.”

He added: “It is time to end the scandal of one of the most deprived areas of the country with some of the lowest wages having some of the lowest numbers of social housing.”

Only around a tenth of housing in Blackpool is social housing (including around 5,000 council houses) compared to a level of 17 per cent nationally.

But Coun Paul Galley, leader of the Conservative group, said his members would not support the rent rise because even though for some it meant only an additional £3.50 per week, this was substantial “when you don’t have much money”.

He called on the council to make savings in back office and supplier costs and by turning empty properties around more quickly which “would generate just as much if not more” extra revenue than the rent rise.

But Coun Brookes said Blackpool already had some of the lowest back office costs in the North West.

Currently the average weekly rent charged in Blackpool for council properties is £84 for general rent properties and £113 for affordable rent properties, which is the ninth lowest in the country and 22 per cent below the national average.

Action to boost affordable housing in the town includes construction of 131 new rented homes at Grange Park as part of a council-led scheme.

The council also has an arms-length company – the Blackpool Housing Company – which renovates rundown properties for affordable rent with most recent figures showing 669 properties on its books.