Minister and MPs briefed on Shropshire housing issues
Shropshire Housing Group Chief Executive, Martin Holland, was part of a delegation that met with the Government's housing minister to discuss innovation in county home building.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the Minister for Housing, Grant Shapps MP, to be briefed on the situation in the county, including how residents are being given a genuine say in how future home development will take shape.
The group included two of the county's MPs, Daniel Kawczynski, from Shrewsbury, who arranged the meeting with the minister, and Philip Dunne, of the Ludlow constituency, along with leaders and key officers from Shropshire Council and heads of other county housing groups.
Mr Holland was also given the opportunity to highlight the particular issues faced by housing provision in Shropshire when he presented to an all-party Parliamentary group, as part of a breakfast briefing at the House of Commons.
He explained: “The meeting with the minister and the presentation to the all-party group gave us the chance to explain clearly the challenges that rural social landlords are facing in the current climate, including the low levels of investment in rural housing and the impacts of welfare benefit changes.
“As housing providers we are putting tremendous effort into being as efficient and effective as possible in everything we do. Shropshire has been particularly effective at developing partnership working across agencies, to avoid or reduce duplication in the services we provide. There is also genuine dialogue with tenants through their representative groups, which is ensuring any steps we take are fully informed by what people actually want.
“No-one can deny the situation is tough, but in Shropshire we are working hard to continue with our innovation and progress and it was good to have the opportunity to help our political leaders understand this so they can support us as much as they possibly can.”
MP for Shrewsbury, Daniel Kawczynski, said: “I was delighted to have secured a meeting with the housing minister for the delegation, as I know how important the issue of housing is in my constituency. My staff and I are inundated with cases from constituents that are struggling to find adequate housing, so I was delighted that the minister was able to hear of the excellent work we are doing in Shropshire to provide housing that is responsive to our local needs.”
Mr Dunne, MP for Ludlow, added: “This was a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to the Minister for Housing that the innovative progress being made in Shropshire to encourage planning and housing to be developed is responsive to local demand and giving local people a genuine say in what is developed here. Shropshire is leading the way across the country in developing local neighbourhood plans and using the community land trust model to deliver affordable housing.”
