Green and Labour councillors clash over plans for new council housing on former Lancaster school site
Councillors clashed over plans for the former Skerton High School and the surrounding area.
Tenant relocations, council house replacements and new affordable homes at Lancaster’s Mainway estate were debated at Lancaster City Council, with different views coming from Labour and Green councillors during questions to the council leader, Green councillor Caroline Jackson.
Coun Jackson gave a written update on recent work, saying the national Regulator of Social Housing had called a meeting with her and the city council’s housing team regarding the state of local council housing, and was ‘happy enough’ to suggest a further meeting in three months.
But Labour councillor Martin Gawith said: “Our current policy with Mainway is to relocate people to properties in Mainway or Skerton.
"But it’s been obvious for years that this is not being met and is unlikely. When are you going to be honest with residents in Mainway? When are you going to tell them that all the houses are not going to be replaced with council housing?”
Coun Jackson replied: “We have a business plan that allows us to look at the homes. It does not say we will replace every house. However, we need to replace the council housing we are losing at Mainway, with the loss of Bridge House.
"We need to get 56-plus houses back again. Whether we can do that at Mainway? But we are working on it.”
Bridge House, a 1960s tower block at Mainway, has structural issues and faces demolition in future. In recent times, around 20 out of the 44 flats there have been occupied but residents will need to be relocated.
Coun Jackson added: “All the people who are housed in council property at Mainway will get a council house at Mainway or Skerton. That’s what residents know and I don’t think we should muddy the waters to make people feel less secure. I don’t appreciate it.”
Labour councillor Robert Redfern said: “If we had not bought the Skerton site, where would we have started building new homes?”
Coun Jackson replied: “We were in a tough spot before we persuaded the county council to sell that site. How could we have managed to rehouse people and start construction of the Mainway site?”