Hopes that modular homes would be built to help the Isle of Wight’s housing crisis have fallen by the wayside without a single 1 delivered.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the Isle of Wight Council approved a project to build 20 2-bed, relocatable modular homes in January 2022 following months of discussion.
However, it has now announced it could not take the project further as costs spiralled and legislation changed which made the scheme more ‘complicated’.
It was hoped the modular homes could provide a temporary solution for Island families at risk of homelessness, with cabinet member for housing, Councillor Ian Stephens saying last year the authority ‘had to deliver’ the homes as problems with the Island’s housing and rental market were not diminishing.
The number of Island families in temporary accommodation on the Island has remained high since the project was approved and latest figures show 227 families in need, in June.
The project has now been taken out of the Council’s housing strategy action plan, without providing the ‘quick fix’ the authority had hoped for.
Speaking at a regeneration and neighbourhoods scrutiny committee last week, Cllr Julie Jones-Evans said it was ‘beyond frustrating’ the project could not continue.
She said planning guidance had changed since the project started which meant it was not as easy to place the modular homes anywhere, and the site chosen, by Newport Harbour, had some issues when the Council started exploring the land.
Councillor Jones-Evans, the cabinet member for regeneration, has said:
“It was a valuable project but it was just the wrong time, perhaps the wrong site, and would have just cost too much as the costs kept going up and up as time went on.
“It is not housing at any cost, it is housing at the right cost for the value for money limitations and this was deemed not good value for money, so it was stopped.”
Cllr Jones-Evans said she was upset about the decision as they had put so much work and effort into it but they have learnt a lot about modular housing and it was something the Council was still looking at, but not in a relocatable way.
Mayby our almighty government should re think their policies on screwing over landlords with taxes and rules, then they might not be selling up in there masses or holiday letting them, it’s really not worth being a landlord anymore
Screwing over landlords? Cry me a river! 😀
Yet another example of council incompetence. The hopelessly slow pace of council business is overtaken by life. What is “beyond frustrating” is the council inability to deliver anything of substance. Meanwhile out of a different budget people are being “temporarily” housed at huge cost in hotels and B&Bs.Where does the money come from? Us, the council tax payers who will be faced with yet another government sanctioned increase again next year. There is no joined up thinking available at all where public money is concerned. The whole sorry lot of councillors should go.
Since announcing the investment of £29 million to tackle housing for homeless families (Jan/Feb 2022) there have been many headline announcements (modular housing, buying empty properties, IOW Development Company) but no results. However, we have seen numerous plans by developers to develop unaffordable housing on greenfield sites which the IOW Council seem determined to approve. There are over 500 houses for sale at £200k or less on IOW – why doesn’t the IOW Council use part of the £29m to buy these and allow families to rent them?
“There are over 500 houses for sale at £200k or less on IOW – why doesn’t the IOW Council use part of the £29m to buy these and allow families to rent them?”
If you are deeming the 500 houses at £200k or less as affordable for the council to buy (and no doubt let them out as nil rent to the tenants) why aren’t they bought by the people that require them?
Mortgage payments for £150,000 is around £700 per month. but, of course, that wouldn’t get paid by benefits…
Not everyone who rents is on benefits
Many working families can afford a mortgage of £700 a month but cannot afford the 20-30% deposit that mortgage lenders require. When we had ‘council houses’ working families that lived in them paid rent to the Council, they weren’t free.
Not sure where you are getting your figures from but a £150,000 mortgage requires 5% deposit as a norm.
I quite agree when we had council houses the rent wasn’t free and I came from that background myself.
But then in the last few decades a wonderful housing benefits system came in which accounts for 70 per cent of households in social housing having their social rents covered by the benefits system.
1919 councils got housing subsidies, which later changed name to housing benefits not in the last few years.
I stand corrected on the actual term. the difference being it was only ever supposed to be a safety net, not a way of life.
Just for information, A mortgage scheme designed to increase the number of deals available to homebuyers with a low deposit or limited equity is running until the end of 2023. Several major lenders are taking part in the Government’s mortgage guarantee scheme, where want-to-be homeowners have access to 95% mortgages.
Have you tried saving for a £20k/£30k deposit whilst also paying £500-1000 a month in rent? It’s sort of not possible.
Wrong place & high costs. Bet someone told them that at the start.
What is wrong with caravans? There are loads of campsites which aren’t utilised during most months of the year. Cost-effective options used for generations.
I totally agree. Put these ne’er do wells in trailer parks and forget about them. Give them minimal benefits and see how quickly they find a job when winter comes.
Isle of Wight’s housing crisis
wrong – it is a population crisis – too many sponging deadbeat losers turning up here from around the uk on a benefit funded house move or arrived on a dinghy from france and been put here.
get rid of the spongers and lo and behold – houses available for actual hard working islanders.
Was wondering when the pondscum would turn up and be racist. My answer has arrived.
And golf courses trimmed from 18 to say around 10 holes perhaps ? The surplus land for decent lodges,nicely landscaped etc ?
She said it was not as easy to place the modular homes anywhere However the Council planning department let developers build on Greenfield sites when there are brownfield sites to build on her problem she’s not sending the right brown envelopes
Pretty much telling it as it is and exemplifies the sociological/political disconnects/vested interests we’re up against ?
I would like to know how much money was wasted in this latest failed project.
You would think building 20 mobile homes which come prefabricated in two halves would be quite an easy task after all holiday parks ship in new lodges/mobile homes all the time
Tell them to pull a dinghy up one of beaches and they will get housed straight away