Housing | Karen Bruce

Prioiritising social housing

Education, Environment, Health, Housing, Young People 2 Responses »

Feb 142007

Speech by Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly

I was interested to read in yesterday’s Guardian about some of Ruth Kelly’s plans for social housing which included helping people onto the housing ladder by giving them the option to buy 10% of their council or housing association home.

More interesting is Luke Akehurst’s blog entry having seen Ruth Kelly speak on housing policy at the Fabians yesterday. Luke reports that Ruth Kelly said that the money raised from this would be re-invested in new stock.

In response to questions, Kelly was reported to have said, “yes we need to build more social homes … more council homes, more housing association homes.” She suggested there was funding to come for building social housing in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review. I certainly hope that this is the case, this will be very good news indeed.

In the Rothwell ward, where I live, I’m constantly contacted by people who are in desperate need of social housing and can’t get anywhere because of the shocking shortage of council housing in Rothwell and in Leeds as a whole. We’re in a situation where housing rarely comes up, and when it does it’s all too often allocated to people from outside our area, leaving local young people and families having to stay with family or friends in overcrowded conditions, which often means that relationships, health and the education of children suffer.

The local Labour Party is calling for the Lib Dem/Tory coalition who run Leeds City Council, to provide more affordable housing, including to buy, and social housing to rent. The situation in Rothwell, and Leeds has reached crisis point and we are determined that something should be done about it.

I think that this issue has to be a priority and it’s good that Ruth Kelly is looking seriously at this. This is, in my view, precisely what the Labour Party exists for – improving the quality of life for ordinary working people.

You can read all of Ruth Kelly’s speech here.

My letter to the Yorkshire Evening Post

Housing 1 Response »

Jan 082007

I’d like to thank the Yorkshire Evening Post for reporting the
shocking shortage of affordable housing in Leeds (YEP, January 8). It
is outrageous that Councillor Les Carter dismisses the figures so
glibly. Doesn’t he realise that these numbers represent real people
who have to live in deplorable circumstances? Families with children
are forced to camp out in the homes of family or friends, because they
have nowhere else to go. This causes intolerable strain on personal
relationships, health and the education of children.

Even when homes do become available it is unlikely that local people
are in with a chance. In Rothwell where I live many of the homes that
are let by the council go to people from outside the area, leaving
local people to suffer in silence.

Thank goodness that Labour Councillor Richard Lewis wants to do
something about helping local people by calling for more affordable
housing for sale and for rent. It’s a shame that Councillor Carter
doesn’t care about the suffering his Tory run council is causing.

Karen Bruce
Town Street, Carlton, Rothwell

Technorati tags: housing, Labour, Conservative, Les Carter, Councillor Carter, Rothwell, affordable housing, social housing, Leeds

Rothwell local election results

Environment, Housing Comments Off

May 072006

Golton, Stewart – Liberal Democrat 2323

Bruce, Karen – Labour Party 1954

Flynn, Dorothy – Conservative 613

Others – 823

I’d like to thank everyone who turned out to vote for me. It was close and the results clearly demonstrate that the Lib Dem councillors have failed to engage with most local people in Rothwell.

I’ll post more later. Now I’m taking a much needed break before throwing myself back into the local issues that are being ignored by the Lib Dem councillors.

I’d like to congratulate the new Lib Dem Councillor Stewart Golton but also challenge him to actually do something about the serious issues in Rothwell.

Show us that something is going to be done to crack down on anti-social behaviour

Show us that something is going to be done to clean-up and improve our neglected estates.

Show us that something is going to be done to stop speeding cars and lorries thundering through Rothwell, Woodlesford, Oulton and Carlton.

Show us that something is going to be done about the litter and filth on our streets.

Useful feedback from Rothwell residents

Education, Environment, Housing, Transport, Young People Comments Off

Apr 202006

Fantastic response to the Rothwell Rose community survey! The completed forms have been coming back in their droves which tells me that folks in Rothwell, Woodlesford, Carlton and Oulton want to be consulted on what their priorities and issues are. Residents would like to be shown more respect and want other people to take responsibility for their actions. The feedback is invaluable in allowing us to prioritise issues and campaigns that are the most important to local people so thanks to everyone who has returned one. Amongst the things that people said were important were more police on the streets, stopping speeding traffic, better local shops, cleaner streets, better care and more to do for older people, more for young people to do and better public transport. The forms are still coming in a constant flow and I will give further feedback later when they are all in!