Speech by Alban Maginness MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly, 25th February 2008

I thank the Business Committee for the opportunity to speak about the important matter of housing in North Belfast. I have dealt with the subject many times in the House and, because it is such an important matter to me and my constituents, I am sure that I will deal with it again. I also thank the Minister for Social Development for attending, and I am pleased to see other North Belfast MLAs in the Chamber.

This important issue affects many people throughout the constituency — from both the Catholic and Protestant communities. There is a chronic shortage of social and affordable housing in North Belfast. The problem is not new and has been recognised by many people for many years. Nevertheless, decades of underinvestment and underfunding have left social-housing stock close to breaking point. Some Housing Executive properties in North Belfast are almost 100 years old and no longer fit for purpose. The Minister is well aware that large areas of the constituency require urgent redevelopment. Last month, she met a large number of residents from the upper “long streets” area of New Lodge Road, who, for years, have campaigned for the redevelopment of their area.

It is only now that they can even consider the prospect of that necessary work being undertaken, and for that, the Minister must be congratulated. I know that the residents of the upper “long streets” were delighted with the Minister’s visit and the personal concern and interest that she showed.

As well as the redevelopment of existing older properties, there is a real need for additional newbuild housing development in North Belfast. At present, there are 2,352 people on the housing list in North Belfast, 1,401 of which have been designated as being in housing stress. Of those people in housing stress, 16% are elderly people, 34% are families, 5% are adults and 45% are single adults. The Housing Executive and the Department for Social Development have produced a document that they hope will be able to deal with some of the most pertinent issues. That follows on from the housing strategy for North Belfast published in 2000.

Those in greatest need are families and single people living on their own — mostly males in their middle years. The latter problem has become increasingly evident and critical in the past number of years, and is due to lifestyle preference — people living on their own — marriage or relationship break-ups, or family division. That is an increasing phenomenon that must be taken seriously because it is a trend that is here to stay. Nonetheless, we must concentrate on families, because they are at the very heart of this housing crisis. There are 471 families in housing stress, and it is important that we address their plight.

Bearing in mind the sectarian history and geography of North Belfast, it is important to recognise that there are differences in the way in which this housing problem affects the Catholic and Protestant communities. Paddy McIntyre, the chief executive of the Housing Executive, said:

“The most significant barrier to delivering housing solutions in North Belfast is the segregated nature of housing. The presence of six major peace-lines is a key inhibitor to the freeing up of resources such as land, but since 2000 I am pleased to say that a number of community initiatives are underway to tackle the serious sectarian divisions which exist.”

Of the 471 families in housing stress that I mentioned earlier, 375 are Catholic and 96 are Protestant. In the single persons category, 469 are Catholic and 168 are Protestant. There is a total of 1,008 Catholics in housing stress, as opposed to 393 Protestants. Those figures illustrate the differential needs on a religious/community basis in North Belfast.

It is clear that the Catholic community has much greater needs than the Protestant community. I emphasise that that does not mean that the Protestant community does not have a significant housing problem in North Belfast. I do not seek to diminish Protestant housing need in North Belfast. However, there are different levels and types of housing need for each community in North Belfast. That has been officially recognised by the Housing Executive’s strategy, which emphasised the need for newbuilds in Catholic areas and the need to raise housing standards in Protestant areas. A two-pronged approach has been employed to address the differential needs in North Belfast.

The North Belfast Housing Strategy, which was launched in October 2000, was intended to serve as the blueprint for tackling the housing crisis over the following seven years.

It was estimated that £76 million might reasonably be spent on housing schemes in North Belfast. The Housing Executive conducted a review of the strategy between February and April 2007, which focused on the work carried out during the first five years of the strategy. The strategy was an ambitious document, which, if successfully implemented, would have vastly improved the housing situation in North Belfast. At the time, I was hopeful that the strategy would meet the majority of the goals that it had set itself, but it is now becoming apparent that it will fail to meet a number of those goals. That is disappointing.

The main target was to build 1,750 new homes for social renting by 2007-08. From 2001 to 2006, a total of 1,248 new homes were built. That means that by the end of 2008-09, an additional 502 units will have to be constructed to fulfill that target figure of 1,750. The review indicated that the Housing Executive is well on course to meet that target, and there is a real possibility that it will build more houses than it originally intended. For that, it is to be commended.

The problem lies in the fact that the actual demand for social housing in 2008 now exceeds that which was predicted in 2000. In addition, many more people than was originally anticipated have now applied for social housing because of the massive increase in house prices over the past two years. In short, housing demand far outstrips supply. Put simply, we need more houses than was originally anticipated in 2000.

Although it seems as if the strategy will meet its targets for additional homes for social renting, it has fallen short on the number of re-lets that have been available each year. It was anticipated that there would be 520 re-lets each year, but, on average, the annual figure has been only 421 re-lets a year. The Housing Executive has attributed that to the settled nature of housing in a number of high-demand areas in the overall strategy area.

The strategy planned to invest an additional £15 million on the acquisition of land for new house-building programmes and £10 million to buy new homes on the open market to meet urgent need. The Housing Executive has failed to meet those targets. As of 2006-07, only £5·3 million has been spent on the purchase of land for new buildings and only £4·54 million for the purchase of homes on the open market. Again, the Housing Executive will have to explain and address those shortfalls.

When Minister Ritchie addressed the first meeting of the Committee for Social Development on 24 May 2007, her message was simple:

“Give me the money and I will build you the houses.”

The Budget allocation that the Minister negotiated for the Department for Social Development was one of the few real highlights of the Minister of Finance and Personnel’s Thatcherite Budget. The Minister for Social Development fought tooth and nail to secure an additional £205 million over the next three years for social housing. She was criticised by Sinn Féin and the DUP for daring to criticise the inadequate Budget allocations for social housing. Those parties originally claimed that she did not need the money, but the Minister laid out her case in the clearest way possible, and common sense and logic prevailed. The DUP/Sinn Féin Executive were ultimately forced to agree with the Minister’s assessment.

The housing situation in North Belfast is critical and requires a serious and sustained effort by the Housing Executive in revisiting its strategy and reinforcing its efforts to address the problems. In order to speak about what must be done to alleviate this scenario, I have demonstrated to Members the facts of the situation. The Minister for Social Development has set herself a scheme of work, and, if she is allowed to fully implement it, it will do much to solve many of the problems that are now faced in North Belfast.

Part of the problem is the underuse of what is available. That may seem marginal and trivial in comparison with the overall problem, but there are 140 vacant homes in interface areas of North Belfast, and they are blighted by the fact that they are in such areas.

Consider the use that those homes could be put to, and the impact that that would have on the families in housing stress who I referred to earlier.

I do not have time to talk about the many other aspects of housing in North Belfast. However, I want to draw attention to the fact that the development of the Girdwood/Crumlin Road jail site represents the best hope that many people in North Belfast have of finding suitable accommodation in the next few years. That particularly applies to families who are presently homeless and living in inadequate temporary accommodation. In terms of housing land, the availability of the Girdwood/Crumlin Road jail site should be seen as a windfall, and it is fortuitous that it is now available for social development.

My strong view is that the Girdwood site should be made available as soon as possible for social and affordable housing developments on a mixed tenure and mixed housing-type basis. I urge the Minister to work towards that in the near future. The Girdwood site could make substantial inroads into the obvious objective housing need in North Belfast. It could provide the space for 200 housing units at the very least. That should be a top priority, and it is one that I prevail upon the Minister to adopt.

The money is available, the building land is available, the housing need exists, and there is an irresistible argument — based on objective proven need — for using the site of the former military base for social housing and development. Furthermore, a fortuitous opportunity to do so has been provided by the release of that site. We should seize the opportunity, and, in that context, the whole community will win.

 

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