Yorkshire Mayors must work with housing associations to tackle the region’s housing crisis – Nick Atkin

It’s not just people on the lowest incomes who need affordable housing. We’re seeing people in professional and key worker roles such as teachers, nurses and carers struggling to afford a home.

This is having a real impact on local services. That’s why it’s vital that the region’s mayors see tackling the housing crisis as a key priority.

The numbers speak for themselves. Over 120,000 people are on social housing waiting lists across Yorkshire and over 2,000 children are living in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

In some parts of Yorkshire, you now need almost ten times the average annual salary to buy a home. The cost of renting has also increased and for people on the lowest incomes the benefits they receive simply haven’t kept pace with price increases.

The problems extend beyond our cities and into Yorkshire’s rural towns and villages. These areas are often more expensive, have poor local transport links and a chronic shortage of affordable homes.

If we fail to build more affordable homes in these areas, we risk driving the people who contribute to our rural communities away, threatening their entire existence.

The good news is that the transfer of powers from London to Yorkshire’s devolved regions can help increase the supply of affordable homes.

In West and South Yorkshire, we’re already beginning to see how devolution is transforming our towns and cities. Millions of pounds worth of government funding has been secured to improve the energy efficiency of thousands of existing homes, improvements to transport and local infrastructure are beginning to take shape and additional funding is available to support regeneration and build more affordable homes.

The development of Strategic Place Partnerships with Homes England in both West and South Yorkshire means we can work together on long-term plans based on what local communities need.

Housing associations are ready and willing to help and are committed to building the affordable homes that Yorkshire so desperately needs.

But we can’t do it on our own. So, what do we need from the region's mayors?

Over the past few weeks we’ve met with mayoral candidates across Yorkshire to discuss what’s needed to tackle the housing crisis.

These conversations have focused on increasing funding and support to deliver the rollout of low-carbon technologies to make homes greener and warmer to live in. We’d like to see a regional approach to boost investment in green skills and training, making Yorkshire the country’s green capital. We’ve also discussed planning. We can’t build the affordable homes we need without improving the efficiency and speed of the planning process. We’ve also offered to work with the mayors to establish a pipeline of suitable sites, including public land, to boost the supply of affordable homes.

We need a plan to get disused brownfield sites ready for new homes to be built. This will help to breathe new life back into local communities and drive regeneration across our towns and cities, especially in areas of high deprivation.

We also recognise that there is a clear link between housing and health, and are building this into our long-term plans. For example, in Scarborough life expectancy is 10 years lower in the most deprived areas than in the least deprived areas.

In two areas of York, just under three miles apart, the difference in life expectancy is 11 years. A long-term plan for housing can help tackle these inequalities and improve health.

We’d also like to see mayors work to secure long-term funding that helps to deliver real change and that makes sense in every corner of the region, linking up infrastructure and transport to allow our towns, cities, and rural communities to thrive. This joined up approach will help us create attractive, economically vibrant places for people to live and work.

By working together, housing associations can provide a valuable and significant contribution to improve the housing offer across Yorkshire. Investing in a long-term plan for housing can help Yorkshire to thrive – that is why it must be a key election priority for all the mayoral candidates and a key consideration for voters when they’re at the ballot box.

Nick Atkin is chair of the York and North Yorkshire Housing Partnership and vice-chair of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership and South Yorkshire Housing Partnership.