There is a major need for decent, affordable rented housing, but the only party on the council who have consistently and relentlessly pushed for this has been the Socialist Party Group.

Writes Councillor Rob Windsor, St Michaels Ward

New Labour fully supported the development of new unaffordable housing schemes in the earlier part of this decade. That is why, disgracefully, no housing on the Highfield Road site was earmarked for affordable rented family homes.

They were happy to support the proposals for overpriced new housing in Wood End, an area now abandoned in the hope of some new housing in the future because the greedy developers that seduced councils and planning departments cannot guarantee a profit. The Tory administration is no different. We have 26,000 on the Coventry ‘Homefinder’ scheme yet only 300-odd new affordable homes have been built this year.

Let’s face facts, we have an economic nightmare in a city that used to produce things but will be lucky to produce anything but fast food by 2020 following public service cuts and the massacre of our once proud industrial and technological heritage.  More and more people need homes to rent that are decent and affordable. Away with this ridiculous scheme that lets developers off the hook by only requiring them to provide 25 per cent of housing as affordable and away with the piecemeal funds.

We need government funds for decent homes like we used to have. Let’s have at least 45 per cent of any new housing developments as affordable. Let’s have enforced reclamation of badly let and managed property and let’s have decent public housing again. 26,000 people in our town need it now, more will in the future.