Housing

Ronnie Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley) (Lab)]

I listened intently to the Secretary of State. I remember—this is going back a long time; I have been here 26 years—that when we came to power in 1997 on the back of 18 years of Tory rule, houses were crumbling and falling to bits. If Members look at the record, they will see that in that period Labour put at least £9 billion or £10 billion into refurbishing houses. In my constituency, I remember new kitchens and bathrooms going in, and new roofs going on the houses. A lot of work was done, so when the Secretary of State knocks the Labour Government, he should remember what they did to refurbish houses that were neglected in the previous 18 years of the Tory Government.

I want to talk about Northumberland. The county council has a waiting list of 10,000 people. It is not a big area, but it is rural and sparsity is an issue. A lot of houses are needed in the countryside and there is a big problem, as the Secretary of State said. There are not many brownfield sites in the countryside, and in extreme circumstances we may have to use green-belt areas, as has been said. There is always a problem in the countryside, because it does not want houses to be built, so there is a big demonstration about it. I do not know where the kids are going to live—sometimes we have to put houses in the countryside.

Northumberland county council has a plan to build 2,000 houses a year, which would constitute 300 jobs a year. That would put a lot of money into the economy—the council reckons £10 million, if it can get the programme going. The only problem is that, at this moment in time, it is completing 191 affordable houses. I do not have a problem with Help to Buy—if young people have a bit of money and want to buy their own home, that is their right—but we need houses for the poor and those people who cannot, even with Help to Buy, afford to buy. We need to build homes for them. There are 10,000 people on the waiting list in Northumberland, which has a population of only 300,000, and there is a problem with people trying to get houses.

Under the county’s core strategy, at least 30% of the 2,000 houses that it is trying to build will be affordable for poor people who cannot afford to buy a home on their own. There are three sites in my constituency where building is under way. I am going tomorrow to have my photograph taken at one where the last house is just being finished—I will be proud to see it, as it is an affordable house. Something is being done, but it is very, very little—it is not enough—and the engine needs to go faster and faster so that we can build more.

We have land in Amble, Berwick, Corbridge, Craster, Embleton, Shilbottle, Rothbury and Wooler. They are not in Blyth—I am in the big town—but in the countryside, where we have land to build. One or two sites might encroach on the green belt, but not by very much, and Northumberland county council really does not want to use that land, as it wants to build houses where they are needed. They are needed in those places in the countryside. I hear Members saying, “You can’t build in villages; you can’t build here,” but we have to build in villages, as they have to survive.

The green belt is a problem, and I hate to see it being built on—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

Order.