12-YEAR WAITING LIST FOR TOWN HOMES

STOCKPORT FACES CRISIS WITH 8,000 PEOPLE ON COUNCIL HOUSING REGISTER WHICH WILL TAKE 12 YEARS TO CLEAR

- DECLAN CAREY

STOCKPORT hit a grim milestone this week.

The borough’s housing register has now grown so big that it will take 12 years to find homes for everyone waiting, council officials have said.

That means at least some of the 8,000 people who have put their name down for social housing in the borough will be left waiting until 2036 before they are offered a place to live.

And the 8,000 figure could be much higher, as it only accounts for individuals not including any family members they may live with.

STOCKPORT

Labour Party leader Cllr David Meller believes there could be as many as 16,000 people on the housing register in total.

Meanwhile, a report from the company managing the council’s properties said that many people looking for social housing are currently living in overcrowded conditions, crammed into homes which are too small, a situation the council’s housing lead described as ‘dire.’

Lucy Canavan is one of the Stockport residents who has been on the housing register for nearly a decade.

The mum-of-three joined the list in 2016 after her third child was born, and says she and her husband are living in a two-bedroom flat on the 6th floor of Bowdon House in Edgeley with their children.

“These flats are old, falling part, it takes months, years even, for repairs to be done when reported,” she says.

“I’m still waiting for flooring to be repaired around my toilet after they fitted a new toilet after they broke it.”

She said the issue has been going on for about four years. “We’ve given up reporting it,” she added.

“Why the council keep giving permission for all these fancy apartments round here to be built just shows you how much Stockport council care about the people from the area.