Free Up Public Land for Social Housing suggests Copeland
East Belfast Assembly Candidate Michael Copeland today called for a full audit of public land in Belfast which could be made available for Social Housing.
In a statement Mr Copeland said,
“There are currently thousands of people on the waiting list for social housing in the east of the city. Currently many will be waiting for some time for homes dues to a lack of availability and consequently a prohibitive points system.
The basic building block of society is the home, which should be in close proximity to places of education, medical treatment and places to shop. But something has gone terribly wrong. In East Belfast, there are many thousands of people who don’t have access to appropriate accommodation or affordable homes.
The need for social housing has increased dramatically since developers started paying enormous sums of money for land and this has left a deficit of affordable social housing being built. Great news for young professionals or those who can benefit from the housing boom, not so great for the many who rely on social security and social housing to make ends meet.
I am realistic and appreciate that there are budgetary constraints and that land in this part of the City is at a premium, however consideration must be given to freeing up some of the land in public ownership in the Constituency specifically for social housing. As a basic first step in establishing whether this feasible or not I am calling for a full audit of available public land across the City.”