Following the march for homeless people in Brighton today, Saturday April 16, local Greens urge the Labour Council in Brighton & Hove to get creative on tackling homelessness.
The march, held at the Old Steine today was organised by local campaigning group Opsafe Winter Brighton.
Protesters called for action to be taken for the homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless and carried coffins to represent the deaths of homeless people on the streets of Brighton.
Greens say increasing homelessness is due to the policies of successive governments since 1979 which abolished rent controls and secure tenancies, while selling off council housing stock.
The Greens are calling for national policy to change now and say the council could be doing more to tackle the plight of homeless people in the city.
Green Housing spokesperson councillor David Gibson, said: “It is a scandal that as the 6th richest country in the world we cannot provide homes for our people. The market approach to housing pursued by governments of all colours since 1979 has failed spectacularly. Rents are soaring while home ownership is falling, and we have an unprecedented shortage of affordable housing. The only people benefiting are developers and private landlords.
“With life expectancy for homeless people averaging 47 years, and people dying unnecessarily on the streets and in the hostels of Brighton & Hove, we firmly support the Opsafe Winter Brighton march and the recent efforts by the Love Activists to work with the homeless community and call for action.
“38% of people are homeless after losing housing in the private rented sector. We need to go back to fair rents (rent controls), secure private tenancies, and building council housing at social rents. It worked in the 60s and still works today in countries like Germany.
“In Brighton & Hove, we need a strong, innovative response to the housing crisis, like quick-assembly accommodation to get people off the streets immediately and put in place the health and social support they so desperately need to get back on their feet. More of the same just won’t cut it.”
The Labour administration rejects the “negative claim” by the Green Party that the council is not doing all it can to help people who are rough sleeping, with clear evidence that efforts to tackle the housing crisis have increased significantly since Labour took over running the council from the Greens saying: “There is always more that can be done, and Government policies are making things worse, but we are taking many practical and positive steps.”
Councillor Anne Meadows, Lead Member for Housing and New Homes, said: “Our administration has made tackling homelessness and building affordable homes high priorities.
“We have appointed Cllr Clare Moonan as Lead Member for Rough Sleeping, we have held a Rough Sleeping Summit bringing together the widest range of organisations possible to work on this issue, and we have held a consultation – concluding today – on the Rough Sleeping Draft Strategy.
“We have set out our aim to build 500 new council homes during our administration, with over 200 already under construction or in the pipeline, as well as 1000-2000 truly affordable homes as part of our joint venture with Hyde.
“We have visited quick-build schemes and we have arranged visits to check on standards in temporary accommodation.
We believe our administration is being innovative and really tackling the housing crisis in the city.”
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