A PROBE has revealed that Wokingham Borough Council is sitting on almost £20 million set aside for affordable housing.
Data obtained by online news portal HuffPost UK shows that across the country, more than £360 million is sitting in councils’ bank accounts instead of being used to tackle the housing crisis. Two-thirds of that cash – £235 million – is being held by just 14 councils.
And the £20 million that Wokingham Borough Council is sitting on amounts to 8.5% of that total.
HuffPost UK asked every council in England and Wales to reveal how much they had received in Section 106 monies since 2013/14, how much they had spent and how much was unallocated.
Based on analysing responses from the 267 councils who responded to the request, HuffPost UK has calculated there is:
- £375 million of unspent affordable housing cash being held across England and Wales
- £204 million is unallocated to any specific projects.
While almost £140 million of the unspent cash has been earmarked for schemes – although not yet been spent – almost £100 million has not even been allocated to specific projects.
In Wokingham, £8,920,223.75 has been committed for projects but not yet spent. This could include plans to revamp Gorse Ride estate in Finchampstead, but has not yet been confirmed.
The remaining £11,071,568 has not been allocated to any projects just yet and the total Wokingham Borough Council revealed to HuffPost as a result of its Freedom of Information request is £19,991,791.10.
Last month, The Wokingham Paper revealed that the council’s reserves fund reduced by almost £3 million over the past financial year. In 2013/14 it stood at £11 million and in 2016/17 it has shrunk to £10,036,000. It is currently standing at £7,072,000.
However Graham Ebers, deputy chief executive and director of corporate services for Wokingham Borough Council, defended the council’s decision to sit on the Section 106 money designated for affordable homes.
He said: “Our executive has approved a range of affordable housing projects, totalling £27,308,469 of expenditure (against received and anticipated Section 106 receipts).
“£8,395,000 of this was spent during 2017/18 financial year on three different affordable housing projects (Phoenix Avenue, Fosters Extra Care and Anson Walk).
“Circa £16 million of expenditure on affordable housing projects is expected in 2018/19 financial year.
“This is an illustration of our ongoing commitment to the provision of affordable housing in the borough.”
The view is not shared by the borough’s opposition parties. Labour councillor Andy Croy was angry that the council is sitting on this money.
He said: “It’s playing politics with people’s lives. There are 2,000 families on the waiting list [in Wokingham borough] who are in overcrowded or poor living conditions. Their everyday lives are a misery because the Tories will not build social housing.
“It’s an absolute disgrace.”
The Bulmershe and Whitegates councillor said that he was being regularly contacted by families from all over the borough who were “desperate for housing”.
“The money shouldn’t be sitting in a bank account, it should be straight out of the door [to build the homes],” he added.
And Cllr Lindsay Ferris, leader of the Wokingham Liberal Democrats, had concerns over where the money was going.
He told The Wokingham Paper: “How is this money being spent? Is it solely for housing or is it being used to support council generally or cross subsidising other projects?
“What has Wokingham Borough Council done with the £11 million? If it’s sitting in a bank account, what will they be using it for?”
He added that the party had looked at the issue of social housing in its manifesto, which they released last autumn.
“We identified the need for social housing back in September. This is a very, very crucial area to expand,” Cllr Ferris said.
“What is happening is that Wokingham Borough Council is not adding to its social stock. We urgently need houses for local people who cannot afford the rents.
“It’s about time Wokingham Borough Council got off its backside and provided the homes that people need.”
But Wokingham Conservatives executive member for finance, Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner, defended his party’s record in the borough.
He said: “We have secured this money from developer contributions to be spent on affordable homes such as those in Phoenix Avenue, Anson Walk and Fosters. Wokingham Housing Limited (WHL) have several areas they are working up at the moment and when these are ready they will come to Executive and Council for approval.
“As with all investments in our affordable housing, we need to secure the money first, then ask WHL to work up the plans before coming to council for approval.
“Whichever way you look at it, we are building more affordable homes than ever before and have more in the pipeline which is good. news for our residents.”
Other councils included in the top 14 by the HuffPost were Labour-run Southwark has £52.6million in the bank, while Camden – also controlled by Labour – has £37.6million.
Tory-run Kensington and Chelsea, which has yet to find new homes for two-thirds of those families affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy, has £21 million for affordable housing sitting unspent.
The Green party was contacted for a comment, but had not been received at time of publication.
| Candidate | Vote |
|---|---|
| Gary Cowan, Independent | 540 |
| David Edmunds, Conservative | 223 |
| Chris Everett, Labour | 48 |
| Spoiled | 1 |
