LIVERPOOL Mayor Joe Anderson today announced what he described as “the biggest and boldest house building programme probably in Europe”.
Joe the Mayor will become Joe the Builder with his scheme for 10,000 houses - if he is re-elected next month
He has pledged to launch a new council-owned housing company to “tackle inequality and address affordability” with no-deposit houses for purchase.
This move will put us in the driving seat, helping address market failure... as well as creating a new income stream for the council and jobs
It will directly compete with private developers to meet housing needs across the city, the mayor says in his announcement.
Mayor Anderson’s proposal will see a Local Authority Housing Company (LAHC) established which will develop publicly owned land and assets for the delivery of new housing. It will also acquire new sites and existing housing, selling and renting homes on a purely commercial basis.
As part of his plan, Mayor Anderson wants to develop a Liverpool version of the rent-to-buy and shared-ownership schemes to help struggling renters get onto the property ladder.
The company will not seek to compete with registered social landlords who provide social housing, but directly with private sector developers in order to better address need in the housing market.
The pledge will be one of the key planks of Mayor Anderson’s personal manifesto ahead of next month’s mayoral election in Liverpool.
Mayor Anderson said: “I will promise to build 10,000 new homes over six years, starting in January 2017, using a transformational rent-to-buy model. No deposit will be required, all we ask is that new owners sign up to a deal to rent the property for a minimum of five years, but they can also take 10 or 15 years if they wish."
He went on: "We will use part of their rent and the increased value of the property over their rental period to use as their deposit. I am also seeking Government involvement to take advantage of their Help to Buy initiative as this could also provide additional help although the scheme is not dependent on it."
“I want to get on with it, using brownfield land in the city. It's the biggest and boldest house building programme probably in Europe. It's a scheme that meets the demand we know is there and for people coming here it will dramatically improve the quality of housing and neighbourhoods.
“Too often local councils have found themselves in the role of bystanders, unable to shape the housing market to address local demand and to tackle inequality. The creation of a local authority housing company will help us gain greater control over build rates and direct the type and timescale of development we need.
“This move will put us in the driving seat, helping address market failure, drive up private landlord quality, deliver new routes into affordable home ownership, as well as creating a new income stream for the council and jobs."
Mayor Anderson added: “It will help us to address issues around the provision and quality of homes in the city, as well as creating jobs, apprenticeships, supporting local businesses and tackling the issue of affordability.
“We have seen what happens when the property market is left to pure market forces: massive inequalities set in that make it so difficult for millions of families to even contemplate getting on the housing ladder. I am determined to do something about this.”
EYES ON THE PRIZE: WHO IS JOE ANDERSON UP AGAINST IN MAYORAL RACE?
Mayor Anderson will face SIX rivals in the Mayoral election in May. Others on the ballot sheet are Cllr Richard Kemp, leader of the Lib Dems in Liverpool and one of just two Lib Dem councillors on the city council.
The other is his wife, Erica Kemp, who is not seeking relection this year.
Cllr Tom Crone will contest the seat for the Greens. As the leader of second largest group on the city council, with 4 members, Crone is officially the leader of the opposition.
Tony Caldeira, chairman of the Conservative Party in Liverpool will fight for the Tories.
The other candidates in the mayoral race are Roger Bannister (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, or TUSC) and Paul Rimmer (English Democrats - "Putting England First!") who also stood in 2012. Alan Hutchinson is standing as an independent.
The city council voted, without a public referendum, to rule the city by a directly elected mayor. In the city’s first ever poll for a directly elected mayor in 2012, Joe Anderson, then leader of the city council gained just under 60pc of the votes, or 58,488 votes. As he gained more than half of the votes on the first count there was no need for a second count.
Three of this year’s candidates also stood last time. Richard Kemp won 6,236 votes (6.33pc) and Tony Caldeira polled 4,425 votes (4.49pc). The runner up in 2012 was former BBC Radio Merseyside journalist Liam Fogarty who stood as an independent. Even though Fogarty was in second place with his 8,292 votes, he was still more than 50,000 votes behind Anderson. Paul Rimmer gained 1,400 votes, of 1.42pc of the total.
Twelve candidates stood last time including UKIP, the BNP and the National Front. More than a third of the electorate in Liverpool didn’t vote. Joe Anderson described the vote as a mandate to him from the people of Liverpool to run the city.
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