Eastbourne Borough Council Leader Stephen Holt: Eastbourne's housing emergency is not unique

This week, I’m giving evidence in Parliament to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Council and Social Housing, at the invitation of Shelter following our campaigning on the temporary accommodation crisis. The group is examining what stops councils building the affordable homes our country needs.

Our town knows better than most what happens when there aren’t enough of them. Three years ago, the soaring cost of temporary accommodation brought this council close to the brink. That is why I was proud to host a housing summit attended by 158 councils from across the country, calling on the government to act. Our MP, Josh Babarinde, has backed that campaign from day one, and has been relentless on behalf of Eastbourne on this issue in Westminster.

Since then, we have exited Exceptional Financial Support early and repaid it, and our housing officers have been recognised nationally with a Homeless Link award. But the root problem remains. Eastbourne’s housing emergency is not unique: councils everywhere are still spending vast sums on temporary accommodation because there simply aren’t enough genuinely affordable homes.

Our evidence to the APPG draws on a joint submission from Eastbourne, Lewes and Hastings councils. All three of us - and councils across the UK -  are ready to build more homes for social rent, but rising construction and borrowing costs, stretched housing budgets and limited access to affordable finance are holding us back. Meanwhile, there are homes with planning permission in Eastbourne that still haven’t been built.

My message to MPs is simple: we want to build, so give us the tools and the funding to do it. Every family deserves the security of a safe and affordable home. The inquiry will make recommendations to ministers, and I’ll report back and continue the fight.

On Sunday, I joined the RNLI Annual Service, hosted by the Salvation Army. Our lifeboat crews go out in all weathers to bring people home safely, and the service was a moving reminder of the calls they answer. As the season turns, please respect the power of the sea and stay safe near the water. My heartfelt thanks to every volunteer, crew member and family who makes that work possible.