Norwich-based Flagship call for increased social housing

It comes after a recent YouGov poll revealed almost 70pc of social tenants said they could not afford to live in their local area were it not for their access to social housing.

This prompted the publication of an open letter which compared the 200,000 social homes built in 1954 to just 9,560 in 2023 as having driven a "housing emergency" nationwide.

Helen Walsham, deputy chief executive of Norwich-based housing provider Flagship Group, said there was a huge demand for more housebuilding in the city but not enough are being built.

She said: "Social rent homes become available through Flagship when someone moves out or we build a new home.

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"For Norfolk, we have an average of 100 people wanting to move into each of our homes as they become available but for Norwich, the figure is more like 200, and that's for every home we have.

"This has a massive impact on local people."

Helen Walsham, deputy CEO of Norwich-based housing provider Flagship Group (Image: Flagship Group)

The open letter, penned by leading charities including Grenfell United and the Health Foundation said 1.3 million UK households sit on social housing waiting lists, with more than 145,000 children in temporary accommodation.

And as the General Election looms, Ms Walsham said this can change if priorities are shifted.

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"One of the most important things the next government can do is to encourage small construction companies back onto the market," she said.

"Construction companies are also finding it hard to get hold of labour, so we have to do more to encourage people to get into apprenticeships.

🏠 When we build social homes, we’re building better lives. We’re building stability. A brighter future.

But right now, we don’t have nearly enough of them.

We need to build good social homes again so a new generation can be proud to say: we are #MadeInSocialHousing. pic.twitter.com/ALGoaAtYCI

— Shelter (@Shelter) May 8, 2024

"Planning is another major issue and we would like to see the process of gaining planning permission for new homes streamlined."

Other roadblocks can hinder the construction of new homes such as nutrient neutrality rules forcing developers to take environmental action to protect waterways.

Around 200 people are on the waitlist for each home managed by the Flagship Group in Norwich (Image: Newsquest)

Ms Walsham added: "We are working on ways to mitigate those delays, but they are still having an impact.

"Building more houses will have a positive effect on the cost of housing in general.

"If we can get more houses built, prices will come down and stabilise - which would be good for everyone."