Affordable Homes Needed
Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqani writes in the Church Times this week about her recent visit to Birmingham to visit some housing projects in progress and see partnerships between the council, Church and other local communities pushing ahead essential housing work in the city:
“Visiting Birmingham last November was so inspiring. I saw early-stage development sites and met future residents. It was also a chance to see in action the Church’s unique ability to unlock development for local communities. Social- housing providers face mounting challenges — Grenfell-related safety concerns, the Rochdale damp-and-mould scandal, and the need to meet net-zero commitments — limiting their capacity to address the housing shortage.
As one of the largest landowners in the UK, the Church can drive development where it is needed most. It offers resources, a local presence, and a commitment to partnership in local communities.
The areas that I visited are among the most deprived in the country. Families are shuffled between temporary homes, often without cooking facilities, and forced to endure long commutes to school. Elderly couples are separated, and vulnerable individuals are placed in overpriced, low-quality houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). I heard tragic stories of addiction and mental-health struggles, exacerbated by a lack of promised support. Without stable, affordable housing in safe communities, everything else becomes harder…
This is complex and challenging work, not without risk, which is being done in the context of pressing national issues and priorities for the Church which take away focus and reduce our collective appetite for risk. As I say, the progress has therefore been slow and painful.
Yet progress — wonderful, exciting progress — has been made. The vision of communities transformed, in which people walking into new, safe, and stable homes that they can afford, because of the work of their local church, feels closer than ever. As the lead bishop for housing, I am very much looking forward to my first cup of tea in one of these new homes in Birmingham.
