Figures obtained by Stockport Labour Group show that not one of the 161 homes sold in Stockport under the Right to Buy Scheme since 2011 has been replaced. This is in spite of assurances by the government that for every council house sold another would be built.
This new data comes at a time when the crisis in affordable housing in Stockport has never been deeper.
Between April 2011 and the present, 161 homes have been sold and not one built with the proceeds. The formula imposed by the Government means receipts from the sales go back to the Treasury. Even if Stockport reaches the point of keeping some of the money it would still mean only one property could possibly be built on the back of several Right to Buy sales.
Stockport Labour Group Housing Spokesperson Councillor Sheila Bailey said ‘It is disgraceful that housing stock can be sold off in Stockport and the Council told to hand the money over to the Treasury. These are Stockport’s properties and the Council should be able to replace them, as promised by the Government. This is a shocking record of failure, letting down everybody in Stockport who is on the housing waiting list.
‘Despite Labour warnings that receipts in Stockport and across the North-West would be insufficient to support the funding required for one-for-one replacement, the Lib Dem-Tory Government pressed on with this reform.
‘This Coalition Government should put its money where its mouth is and keep its promises. Hand this money back and let us use it to build homes for Stockport families.’
Government changes to the Right to Buy, which gives eligible people an opportunity to buy their home at a discount of up to £75,000, came with an assurance that any increase in sales would be replaced on a one-for-one basis with homes at affordable rents.
In 2011 then Tory Housing Minister Grant Shapps said that the Government was determined to maintain the number of affordable homes for rent; ‘for the first time, every additional home that is sold will be replaced by a new affordable home on a one-for-one basis.’
The Government will be writing to all Council tenants during the weeks commencing 2nd and 9th February to publicise the Right to Buy scheme which could lead to a further increase in take-up in Stockport.