Lancaster MP highlights city housing crisis in Parliament speech

Highlighting the recent Lancaster Guardian investigation into homeless people being forced to sleep up to six to a room for months on end in a Morecambe hotel, Ms Smith spoke in Parliament on Tuesday asking Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones what could be done to help families forced to stay in temporary accommodation.

“This is paired with a frustration I hear from local house builders and developers about delays in the planning process in the district in order to build those homes,” she said.

“Is there anything further ther minister thinks can happen in Lancaster that would help ensure that families in the district actually have secure housing?”

The minister replied: "My honorable friend knows that we are doing everything possible in this place to streamline and improve the planning legislation and the planning processes with clear signals to everybody across the country that we need to build and build rapidly, not least for our housing targets.

"Local councils play an important role in this process, as we know, to make decisions for local development and I understandf that in Lancaster City Council my honorable friend has had some struggles with the Green Party becoming blockers as opposed to builders.

"I would say to them and to people across the country, they need to get behind the build agenda because that is what the British people voted for.”

Afterwards, Ms Smith said: “We know that too many families in our community are stuck in temporary accommodation, like hotels, for months on end.

“This was recently highlighted in a Lancaster Guardian article and it’s deeply frustrating to hear these experiences, as well as the thousands of people that are on waiting lists for housing and at the same time hear that planning applications for decent, affordable housing are being blocked!

“Whilst I recognise that Lancaster City Council's resources are stretched thin, the message from the government is clear – we must build homes fit for the future with the infrastructure to support them and I will continue to work alongside Lancaster City Council to see that local progress is made.”