Liverpool City Council has started a public consultation on a £1bn-plus housing programme.
In its draft housing strategy, the council said it will support the delivery of 2,000 homes a year, reduce the number of empty properties and tackle homelessness.
The population of Liverpool is forecasted to grow by 40,000 households over the next 20 years. Currently, 52% of people live in either private rented or social rented homes – one of the highest ratios in the country. Of the 10,700 homes built in Liverpool in the past five years, only 11% are classed as affordable. The council will seek to double this number. In addition, 44,000 homes – or 20% – in the city do not meet the “decent homes” definition.
The council’s strategy will be underpinned by four key themes designed to improve people’s health and support the council’s net-zero ambitions:
- Deliver quality homes that support needs and aspirations
Key aim: enabling partners to build at least 8,000 new homes by 2027, with 20% affordable housing. - Improve homes and neighbourhoods
Key aim: improve quality of rented homes and bring empty homes back into use. - Promote healthier lives and sustainable homes
Key aim: retrofit homes, prioritising those on low incomes in the worst-rated properties. - Enable access to a suitable home
Key aim: tackle homelessness and rough sleeping by providing more housing for vulnerable groups and those with support needs. This will be underpinned by a new homelessness strategy which is currently being devised.
The council will undergo a “major retrofitting programme” aimed at improving insulation and heating sustainability standards. New data shows 18% of households are living in fuel poverty. The programme would also reduce the carbon footprint of the city’s housing stock, which currently accounts for 33% of the city’s carbon emissions.
The council will also carry out a review of empty homes in the city, by writing to landlords of more than 8,000 vacant properties. It has also set out a commitment to develop brownfield sites and is currently working on schemes including Festival Gardens, Liverpool Waters, King’s Dock and Paddington Village.
Following the public consultation, the council will develop a “detailed action plan”. The final Liverpool Housing Strategy will be approved by the cabinet this autumn.
The strategy will inform the council’s Local Plan, which will replace the 2022 Local Plan. It will provide the statutory planning policy framework for the growth and regeneration of the city and will be underpinned by a Strategic Housing Market Needs Assessment.
The council will then submit the plan to government for independent examination in late 2025, to be ready for adoption by December 2026.
Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “The new government has set out its mission to change the housing landscape of this country – and Liverpool stands ready to play its part. The council recognises the challenges people face to get on the property ladder, which is why our new draft housing strategy has set out a target for 2,000 new homes a year, with a fifth being affordable.
“The underlying problem of supply and demand is also at the heart of our mission – which is why we are working with a range of partners to unlock key brownfield sites and to systematically reduce the number of empty properties. Together this will help kickstart a £1bn boom in housebuilding across the city, which will have a huge impact on our economy and workforce.”
Image © Neil Martin/Unsplash
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