Housebuilding needs to be ramped up in Derry so people can live in own community, says Ferguson

Thus said Foyle MLA Ciara Ferguson in the Assembly this week.

Ms. Ferguson said access to social and affordable housing was a ‘critical issue that significantly impacts on families in Derry, west Tyrone’.

"We want to see real delivery for people on those issues and a focus on supporting our struggling homeowners and renters alike, alongside the prioritisation of ending long-term homelessness in our society.

"That should include the delivery of multi-annual budgeting and the expansion of homelessness services, including Housing First and projects such as Complex Lives in the north-west.

"Housebuilding projects must target areas such as Derry, where housing need is greatest, so that people who have been failed by the provision of housing for decades have the opportunity to live in their community,” said the Sinn Féin MLA.

She pointed to statistics showing that across the North as a whole at least 46,500 households are on the social housing waiting list, 34,500 of whom are deemed to be living in ‘dire need’, with over 26,000 statutorily homeless.

“The British Government need to get serious about the investment in our public services that they must provide. That requires a new level of serious engagement on the assurances around securing the additional funding that is required for the Housing Executive not just to maintain its current stock but, crucially, to remove the historical debt and begin bringing new social and affordable homes to meet the level of need across all our communities,” she said.

Housing Crisis Taskforce for Derry & Strabane as almost 6,000 applicants on social housing waiting list