Executive Director of Housing and Communities, Mark Nearney, answers this question from a tenant: What is Hull City Council doing about building more council homes?
One of our biggest challenges right now is that there are not enough homes for everyone who needs or wants one. It’s a sad fact, reflected up and down the country, but we’re working as hard as possible to ease the situation locally.
We’re committed to building hundreds of new homes over the next five years.
Creating new homes is a complicated process and takes time. Also, it’s not just about putting up buildings. New homes are an investment in our future neighbourhoods, where people can live safely, healthily and in well-connected communities.
This means designing homes that are energy efficient and well designed with plenty of space for modern living. It also means building a mix of homes to suit different needs, with 1, 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms, as well as bungalows.
We’re also being careful about where we build and how the new neighbourhoods look and feel. That includes using brownfield sites that were standing empty and designing green areas that tenants and the wider community can enjoy. Importantly, we need to make sure homes are within easy reach of local community facilities and transport links.
With all this in mind, in January 2025 we launched our Housing Growth Plan with a target of building 840 new council homes across the city by 2031. We’ve made good progress:
- 95 homes are complete with tenants now moved in
- 141 homes have contractors on site
- 42 more homes have contracts signed with builders
- 500+ homes are being designed or in procurement
There is no quick or easy fix for the lack of available housing. We need to plan carefully to build the right types of homes, in the right places, in ways that will benefit tenants and communities for generations.