Green Belt building call to tackle housing crisis

CITY CAN'T RELY ON HIGH RISE FLATS, SAYS MAYOR

- DECLAN CAREY

NEW homes on the green belt are needed to tackle Salford's housing crisis, Mayor Paul Dennett has said.

He said the city cannot rely on building high rise flats in the centre, which are 'unaffordable' for many residents.

He called on the new Labour government to 'properly fund' councils so they can build more family homes to meet the demand for affordable housing. In January, Mr Dennett said Salford had entered a housing and homelessness 'crisis' due to rising numbers of people facing life on the streets.

A recent council report revealed there were around 3,000 cases of people facing homelessness last year, up from around 1,900 two years earlier. Salford council has announced a number of measures to tackle the issue, including building 600 new council houses over the next four years.

The scheme was shared in the council's new corporate plan described by Mr Dennett as a 'plan for socialism. It aims to create a 'fairer, greener, healthier and more inclusive' Salford by 2028.