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Lord Porter calls on local councils to help deliver community-led housing
In a statement to the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) Annual Conference, Lord Porter of Spalding, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA) chairman, has highlighted the vital role local (parish and town) councils have to play in delivering community-led housing following the scrapping of the housing cap.
The Conservative peer was scheduled to address the conference but parliamentary business meant he was unable to be in Milton Keynes.
Cllr Sue Baxter, chairman of NALC, read out the statement, in which Lord Porter said: "Now, of course, you wouldn’t expect to hear from me without hearing about housing. In my fifteen years at the LGA, I have always made the case for councils building homes. Having spent most of my time campaigning for the borrowing cap to be scrapped, it feels extra special that a Prime Minister has now recognised the essential role of councils in building new homes. It is bang on."
“We now need to encourage people to build their own homes and let them design the things they want to live in. As part of this, the local knowledge and influence of parish and town councils will be vital to helping us find the sites to build these homes.”
Lord Porter also said: “I’m proud to have played my part in a local government family and to have worked with many of you at NALC over the years.” He went on to emphasise the need for the LGA and NALC to continue to work together in this important time for local government and praised the work of councillors in “finding new ways of working to deliver the best possible public services for local people and communities.”