Salford Mayor Paul Dennett has issued an urgent call for a vast housebuilding programme, modelled on the great post-WWII reconstruction of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, to eradicate homelessness in Greater Manchester.
He said "another mobilisation of that size" is imperative to prevent families being forced onto the streets due to a critical shortage of housing.
In the period following World War II, approximately a million homes were built, most of which were social housing, to house those who lost their homes to aerial bombardment.
Greater Manchester has an ongoing severe homelessness crisis, exacerbated by the scarcity of affordable homes. Shelter in December highlighted that there were 16,500 individuals without homes during the festive season, half of them children.
Mr Dennett, also deputy mayor for Housing in Greater Manchester, told : "The huge post-war council house building projects rendered homelessness statistically insignificant. We urgently need government support for another mobilisation of that size to achieve the same again.
He added that simply building new homes would not solve the problem, as Salford has seen the loss of over 10,000 social homes to the Right to Buy scheme since 1980. Mr Dennett is calling for the suspension of this policy to halt the "decimation" of council housing stock.
He added: "Along with this, the government moving to end Section 21 'no fault' evictions is a positive step, but we need strong protections against landlords evicting tenants through unjustifiable rent hikes."
Other councils in Greater Manchester have also expressed concern about the Right to Buy scheme depleting social housing numbers, with Stockport council disclosing last year that it has lost half its council homes since the 1980s.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, under the leadership of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, seems open to the idea of modifying the scheme and increasing housebuilding.
A spokesperson told the M. E.N that there are plans for "the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation" which will "prioritise the building of new social rented homes."
Changes are also on the horizon for the Right to Buy scheme, the department added, stating there are plans to make the system "fairer, more sustainable, and ensure that homes sold are replaced."
Last year, Salford's mayor declared a crisis following a spike in homelessness that left the council struggling to find accommodation for everyone in need. The city was compelled to open an emergency overnight shelter in a former school building, where individuals slept on inflatable mattresses to avoid the cold.
However, if building more homes is the best solution to the crisis, Salford is leading the way in Greater Manchester.
Salford Council led the way in adopting the Places for Everyone plan, which sets a target of 28,000 new homes in the city by 2039. The local authority has made significant strides, with nearly 8,000 homes built between 2020 and 2023, exceeding its target.
Furthermore, 500 new council homes have been constructed in the last five years, with an additional 600 in the pipeline. However, Mr Dennett emphasized that any future housing initiatives must prioritize the development of social and affordable housing, stating: "we need to build council homes, at truly affordable social rents, at a large scale."
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