Causeway Coast and Glens councillor blasts Housing Executive figures on social housing as 'nonsense'
Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council members claim the Northern Ireland Housing Executive’s (NIHE) social housing need projections for the borough are “nonsense”.
During an NIHE Housing Investment Plan Update deputation, which took place at this month’s full council meeting, chief executive, Grainia Long, noted that NIHE had invested £84.36 million into housing in the Borough in 2023/24.
An investment of £27.12 million was made towards new-build homes, with 277 new social homes under construction as of March this year and 664 new social homes programmed for 2024-2027.
A section within the report, entitled ‘Social Housing Need by Settlement 2023-28’, identified a total projected need of 1,638 houses – 1,025 in the borough’s towns and 613 in its villages – during that period.
Sinn Féin councillor Leanne Peacock said the council was “acutely aware” of a housing crisis in the borough, and the social housing need identified within the report was “not reflective of the actual need”.
She added: “For example, the need figures quote Rasharkin needing six properties, Dunloy two, Armoy seven.
“You could go on right through [the list], and any [member] could speak about their own local area and say those figures are nonsense, that don’t reflect the true need on the ground for local people.
“There are many people who don’t bother to apply for housing because they know they have absolutely no prospect of getting a home, who are stuck in the unaffordable private rent sector, and you have adult children forced to stay with parents, grandparents, and family members.
“Those are just examples of people who need housing but they’re not reflected anywhere in our housing figures.”
Ms Long said NIHE were an “open book” in regards to the methodology they use to identify need, and were “always open to challenge”.
“That’s our attitude,” Ms Long concluded. “If somebody can do it better than us we’re happy to look at that and hear a conversation about what the better way is.
“From our point of view as housing professionals, this is the methodology; It’s peer reviewed and it’s an established methodology, [but] I’m very happy to have a conversation with any academics or any other model that somebody thinks is better than our established model.”