BLOG | Our vision to tackle the housing crisis

Earlier this week, Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Sam East spoke at the Housing Community Summit at the Liverpool Convention Centre, organised by the Chartered Institute for Housing and the National Housing Federation. In this blog, he reflects on the city’s plan to tackle the housing crisis…

Liverpool is a stunning city.

A great place to live.

But we want to make it better.

Our housing strategy, which we have recently been consulting on, recognises that a home is the bedrock of your entire life.

Where you grow up has an enormous impact on who you are and what you become.

We want to have a diverse mix of housing, recognising that people have different needs and wants – for sale, for rent and shared ownership.

We’ve pledged 8,000 new homes by 2027 and want to enable it through strong partnerships with the likes of Homes England, Registered Providers and the Combined Authority.

Accommodation suitable for you whether you’ve just left home and making your way in the world for the first time.

Housing that meets lifetime standards and will remain fit for purpose, with step free and wheelchair access for our growing, older population.

Too much of our existing housing stock is not energy efficient, and much of it dates back to Victorian times.

We’ve helped retrofit hundreds of homes but know there is far more to be done.

That’s why our next generation of housing needs to be greener and sustainable, using renewable energy, using brownfield sites whenever possible.

At the Housing Community Summit, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram unveiled a pioneering house as part of his ‘Future Homes’ scheme.

It uses modern methods of construction, can be constructed in a week and looks just like a conventional property. It is so energy efficient that you won’t pay any bills.

What’s more, it is built by a local firm.

This type of innovation, which has been tried and tested in other countries, can help us solve the housing crisis,

It is just one of the ways in which we are determined to deliver decent housing, helping create thriving communities where adults and children lead healthy lives.