Homeownership has become a distant dream for many families nationwide, with the South East bearing the brunt of soaring housing costs.
My generation was relatively lucky in comparison. In the past, the buying power of our salaries was significantly higher. In recent years, house prices and rents have skyrocketed and made the property ladder out of reach for many.
Housing Shortage Across Southend
The challenge locally is just as clear. Across the Southend City Council area, we have 1,129 households on the waiting list for social housing, and 1,098 across Rochford District. I can only begin to imagine the hardship and uncertainty facing those waiting. Mandated rates of affordable housing will go a long way to help alleviate pressures on waiting lists.
Ensuring that we break the cycle of housing insecurity and drive up living standards is a significant focus for me and the Government. Delivering 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament is a vital step towards achieving this aim. In the long term, building more high-quality houses will help to reduce house prices. In the short term, development will ease council waiting lists and ensure that tenants have access to high-quality housing.
Locally, we have a number of prospective developments coming down the track, but the proposal for 10,000 houses at Bournes Green has been a regular feature in my conversations with residents, and understandably so. Whilst I do not have a formal role in the planning process, I am committed to representing the views and concerns of local residents.
Planning for Essential Services
In fact, I’m the first to note my concerns around the capacity of our essential services and road networks. Sutton Road, Eastern Avenue and Priory Crescent are already congested with our current traffic load, let alone thousands more vehicles. We have 17 GP surgeries serving thousands of residents, and only 12 NHS dentists struggling to meet demand. You need only look to Thorpe Hall Avenue to see that our ageing sewerage and water networks are also under strain. It’s important that all these infrastructural aspects are accounted for, as a new development that ignores these shortfalls may risk overwhelming the services we depend on.
I also feel that it is important to clarify the context regarding the prospective Bournes Green development. With planning applications yet to be submitted, and the land privately owned, the council’s ability to comment on plans, proactively make determinations and hold developers to account is limited. Initially, I understand that the new town application was proposed on the condition that the housing numbers would be deducted from the area’s housing targets, rather than applied in addition to them. But I understand the concerns surrounding the scale of this development on top of existing targets.
Services Must Match Growth
To be clear, I have made my views known on the matter. I am not supportive of any scheme that does not bring the desired infrastructure. This term ‘infrastructure’ is subjective and site-specific and can mean different things to different people.
Regarding the proposed development at Bournes Green, ‘infrastructure’ to me refers to the need for an improved or new road network, as well as essential local services. These services should include a GP surgery, dentist, supermarket, library, sewerage infrastructure, schools, and nursery facilities, at a minimum. Additionally, there should be provisions for cycle highways, community meeting spaces, and initiatives focused on green and environmental sustainability.
Homeownership Out of Reach
There are no two ways about it. The prospect of homeownership is unattainable for far too many. Across the county, skyrocketing house prices have left many with no alternative but insecure rental arrangements and temporary accommodation. That’s why I will be having more meetings with developers, Rochford District Council, Essex County Council and Southend City Council to ensure that new homes are delivered alongside new roads, schools, surgeries and sewers that our community needs. I will also be pushing for the front-loading of essential infrastructure so that families are not left waiting for the basics.
Everyone deserves a place that they can call home, and I’m committed to making that a reality.
Bayo Alaba
MP for Southend East and Rochford
📞 01702 844754
📧 bayo.alaba.mp@parliament.uk