£122m action plan to ease homes shortage

West Oldham is to get £122 million from the Government, housing associations and the private sector over the next four years to tackle a housing shortage and overcrowding.

Oldham West District Partnership heard last night that 35 per cent of the total planned £346 million investment in housing across Oldham by 2015 will take place in West Oldham, which covers some of the most disadvantaged wards in the borough.

Members heard that although houses were the lowest priced in Oldham, wages were also low and deposits were high, which meant that despite the fact the average house price is below £84,000, they were still unaffordable to the local population.

With regard to renting, only 40 social housing properties were vacated during the last year, with up to 92 prospective tenants making a bid for each property.

Three-bedroom houses are in greatest demand, where 92 people put in for each one that came up for rent, with 65 bids for each vacated four-bedroom house and 60 for each five-bedroom house.

In the private rented sector, homes in West Oldham have the highest rate of overcrowding, affecting one in eight properties, which was almost three times the rate for the borough.

Across West Oldham as a whole, 8,584 homes are owned by the people who live in them, 1,940 are rented out privately, and 7,211 are rented out by the local authority or a registered provider.

And shocking figures show four out of 10 privately rented houses in West Oldham are let in a “non-decent” condition.

Action taken to improve the situation includes almost 200 family homes freed by moving tenants to smaller properties, and 670 unfit homes at Primrose Bank and Werneth demolished to prepare for development.

The £113 million Gateway to Oldham housing scheme for the borough will also see millions ploughed into housing in West Oldham.

Schemes include:

192 new homes, including 116 affordable properties, and refurbishment of 51 council houses in Primrose Bank.

46 new homes, including 36 affordable, in Dew Way, Coldhurst.

78 new affordable houses in Fitton Hill.

97 new houses at Borough Mill, Hathershaw, including 35 affordable homes, completed by March 2010 and managed by Great Places.

112 new homes, including 31 affordable, in Spencer Street, South Werneth, by March 2012 and managed by Great Places.

52 new homes in North Werneth, on top of 5 recently completed in Suthers Court, Werneth.

Councillor Abdul Jabbar called for an action plan dealing with some of the problem issues and breaking them down into ward areas, to be drawn up for a future meeting.