IT WAS nice to see Coun Joe Watt and Paul Cordock back in the pages of this publication again discussing housing policy and affordable housing after a gap of a few months. We only now need to hear from the temporary resident of Australia to get the old “gang” back together on their favourite subject.

The facts are these: in 1990 my partner and I just managed the three times one wage and 1.5 times the second wage to obtain a mortgage of £43k on a two-bed terraced house – living room, kitchen diner, downstairs bathroom and no double glazing or central heating.

After modernisation the house sold in Jan 2004 for £96k, the buyer sold it two years later for £140k+. If York has an average wage of £23k, and most people earn well below that figure, the maximum sensible mortgage is £100k. Reality tells us that most couples or individuals would struggle to get a mortgage over £80k.

Also the rented market has been hiked up due to smaller and smaller units coming onto the market through conversions. Two-bed houses now range from £500 to £600 a month and three-bed £600 to £800 a month. It has also been hiked in recent years by a general housing shortage and increased demand from people not being able to buy.

With conversions a real problem in the city, I hope that my motion to council for a supplementary planning document to slow and stop conversions of current homes will help to stop the extreme prices in the private rental sector.

Affordable housing is the only way forward to help future generations so the council has its part to play in ensuring that all “empty” properties are brought back into use and that none are allowed to “rot” as a number do across our city.

Coun Tracey Simpson-Laing
Labour spokesperson for Housing & Adult Social Services, Salisbury Road, York.