11,000 wait for council home

NEARLY 11,000 Oldham families are waiting for council homes, according to figures released by the GMB union.

A study by GMB shows the borough has 10,874 families on the council housing waiting list, ranking it the eighth highest out of 23 local authorities in the North-West.

According to the union, as the gap between house prices and earnings continues to grow, affordable housing now has to be an integral part of plans for whoever forms the next government in 2015.

And it called for council house-building on a grand scale.

The average house price in Oldham is £82,202, while median earnings are £22,101 — nearly four times lower.

This data is drawn from a new study by GMB on the latest official figures for housing waiting lists, average house prices and median earning.

Neighbouring Tameside is 13th on the list with 6,168 families waiting for council homes and 5,355 in Rochdale which is 14th in the rankings.
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