Tory town hall bosses say Theresa May must give more cash for council homes - poll
1 min read
Tory town hall chiefs want Theresa May to hand over more cash to fulfil her promise to build 25,000 council homes, a new survey has suggested.
More than seven out of 10 Conservative local authority bosses say the £2bn the Prime Minister has pledged for the scheme is nowhere near enough.
The opinion poll of 121 Conservative council leaders and local housing bosses found 71% thought more cash was needed.
The poll was commissioned by charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and was published in the Sun.
JRF chief executive Campbell Robb said: “We are yet to see action from the Government on the scale required to tackle the housing crisis facing millions of people across England.
“Struggling families are relying on the Prime Minister to live up to her stated mission of redesigning our housing market so it works for everyone.
“Only by addressing the chronic shortfall in the supply of low-cost rented homes, can the Government begin to loosen the grip of poverty.”
Mrs May also faced calls to relax planning laws to help local authorities get properties built more quickly.
Lord Porter, chair of the Local Government Association, said: “The last time the country built more than 250,000 homes a year councils built 40% of them.
“If local government is to play our role in meeting these ambitious targets we need to be given greater freedom to build new homes.”
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