While out canvassing for a local by-election in my patch, I stumbled across the first council housing that was built in Gloucestershire, in the village of Mickleton.
It got me thinking that, this July, it will be 103 years since the 1919 Addison Act gained Royal Assent. Piloted by Liberal minister Dr Christopher Addison, it kick-started the building of council housing.
So, I want to celebrate the work of councils in delivering new council housing, or doing so in partnership with housing associations or other partners.
“We are working… to deliver truly affordable housing to meet local need”
Across the country, Liberal Democrat colleagues have been working hard to directly deliver new homes. These include Portsmouth – which has also bought back nearly 400 properties that were sold under Right to Buy since 2016 – plus new council homes from Lewes and Eastbourne to St Albans and up to York, where the city council is building Passivhaus homes.
Cheltenham is also building new carbon-neutral council housing, while South Lakeland District Council is working with registered social landlords to build new housing for rent.
My own authority of Cotswold is another example of where we have been working with a housing association to provide new homes on brownfield sites across the district.
In our rural areas, we are working alongside community land trusts and other community-led housing groups to identify opportunities to deliver truly affordable housing to meet local need, offering grants to kick-start the process.
More than a century later, councils are continuing the work that was started by Dr Addison. Let’s all work together to build truly affordable housing.