By Mary Cooke
For the last decade, Thanet District Council has been producing an average of 18 council homes per year.
However since May 2023 there has been a sharp rise in those numbers with 209 properties being acquired or developed in the past 12 months alone. When Labour was elected last May, the council pledged to provide 400 new affordable homes for those in need over four years but are more than halfway towards meeting that goal already.
Cllr Helen Whitehead, who is deputy leader of Thanet District Council and the cabinet member for housing, said: “155 of those [209 properties] are directly down to the new housing strategy. So, we’re rapidly outstripping where we were in terms of average council house production which is enabling a lot of families to move either from temporary accommodation or off the housing list.”
Thanet District Council requires developments of 10 units and above to include 30% affordable homes, although these won’t all necessarily be social housing and there are occasions when developers say that amount will mean the scheme isn’t viable so fewer are offered.
Over the past year it has also become evident that developers have been unable to secure deals with affordable housing providers to take on the units and has asked the council to purchase them instead.
“We have situations where registered providers or several registered providers have said no, they won’t be taking on those units. We are now stepping in to purchase those so that we don’t lose affordable units and can create more council housing,” said Cllr Whitehead.
Thanet’s need for genuinely affordable housing has grown significantly post-Covid as property costs and private rental prices have risen above average wages. There has also been a soar in demand for homes in Thanet, with 45% fewer homes available in 2021 than in 2019.
The council-owned properties rented to those on the housing list do not cost more than the local housing allowance (or LHA) of £109.32 per week for a one bed property, and just under £150 per week for 2 bedrooms. The LHA is based on what the government terms a “Broad Rental Market”, or the area in which a person can be reasonably expected to live.
Cllr Whitehead said: “Even if you are entirely reliant on benefits to support paying rent, it’s still affordable for you.”
She calls this a “virtuous circle of housing” and when asked how this works, Cllr Whitehead said: “All of the income from rent goes straight into that and only ever goes towards either producing further housing or maintenance of existing stock, so we don’t have to make a profit.”
She said she was unable to comment on the impact developments have had on residents and the supporting infrastructure such as schools, access to health providers, development of farmland and road congestion, as these issues do not come under the affordable housing strategy.
Carbon emissions
Thanet District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019, however the construction and building sector is estimated to be responsible for emitting 37% of all greenhouse gasses globally and causes up to 50% of all climate change.
In order to offset some of that impact, Cllr Whitehead said: “We are working very hard to reduce all of our carbon emissions. Incorporating that into housing is a very big part of it.”
She uses the King Street development in Ramsgate – a former garage site which suffered from fly tipping and vandalism – as an example of building houses with the aim of achieving carbon-neutrality.
She said: “There’s been a lot of progress in terms of moving forwards and making sure that what we’re building is sustainable.”
This includes under-floor heating, building to EPC A standard and using solar-technology for the latest builds.
This means, she said, the King Street development – which was completed in 2021- will see “approximately 36,670 grams of carbon reduction over a five-year period.”
Building to the highest environmental standards means the council can “future-proof” homes in its portfolio and avoid expensive renovations in the coming years.
More recently new council housing has been bought -or is in the process of purchase- on developments such as Spitfire Green, Reading Street, Tothill Street and Northwood Road. There are also plans to build council homes at sites including the former Dane Valley Arms and Tomlin Drive in Margate and Staner Court and Clements Road in Ramsgate, constituting Phase 4 of the council’s affordable housing build project.
Concerns have been raised that new homes may be used for housing people who come from outside of Thanet. However, a spokesperson for Thanet council said: “There is no scope to bring people into the area under our new homes scheme, unless they are families we have a duty to house who are currently in out of area temporary accommodation.”
As of May 2024, there were 1904 households on Thanet District Council’s housing register and 288 in temporary accommodation, according to data from January, which the ramp up in council purchases and developments hopes to help tackle.
If you or someone you know needs help with housing, get help here:
Or call Thanet District Council’s housing team on: 01843 577277
Trainee reporter Mary Cooke is currently studying an MA in Journalism (Arts) at the University of Lincoln
