Housing standards ‘impossible’ as council faces £500m improvement cost

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

A Welsh council needs an additional half a billion pounds to bring its housing stock up to the Welsh Housing Quality Standard by 2034.

But Wrexham County Borough Council has been told there will be no additional money made available this year to make energy efficiency improvements – leading councillors to brand the WHQS an ‘impossible’ target.

The council’s Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee heard on Wednesday from Head of Service – Property Lee Roberts that this year’s budget to repair and maintain its housing stock comprised of the authority’s annual spend of around £40m per year, the recurring major repairs allowance from Welsh Government of £7.6m and a grant secured for optimised retrofit from the Senedd for £3.4m.

The WHQS states that by 2030 all local authority social housing stock should have an Energy Performance Rating in the middle of band C. By 2035 it should all have reached the middle of EPC band A.

Rent rises

According to Mr Roberts, while ongoing works by Wrexham Council to install insulation and replace doors, windows and roofs is gradually bringing the EPC ratings of housing stock up, to bring every home up to the standard in time would cost an extra £500m.

“I met with the Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant last week with other North Wales Cabinet Members to outline our concerns on the funding and where we would get the money to meet these high standards in the WHQS,” said Lead Member for Housing and Climate Change Cllr David Bithell.

“I understand there isn’t any more money coming to meet the standards. I don’t think it’s fair for us to put rents up six or seven percent to fund this which is why I argued against it in the last budget and we only increased our rents by three percent as a result.”

With Wrexham Council having already maxed out it’s borrowing against its housing stock, there are huge questions around whether reaching the standard remains a realistic goal.

Pen-y-Cae Cllr John Phillips asked: “How is the target date of 2034/35 achievable if the money is not there? I was going to ask about solar panels but I think that’s a pipe dream now.”

Ponciau Cllr Paul Pemberton went a step further: “To be perfectly honest, Welsh Government are asking the impossible. Looking at the cost of heat pumps alone, £15,000 each. At the same time we have kitchens wearing out, bathrooms wearing out and you’ve got that on top. It’s a difficult situation.

“Undeliverable”

Cllr Graham Rogers of Hermitage Ward added: “I’m a realist. The stark reality is this programme is undeliverable in the timeframe.

“If Cardiff are dictating to us, they need to realise we want additional money otherwise we’ll be having this debate in 2034. I feel sorry for Cllr Bithell and Lee Roberts because they are expected to deliver a project that is out of their hands.”

According to Roberts, even if the money was found there were other challenges that would make meeting the deadline of 2035 almost impossible.

“If we got the funding tomorrow I;m not sure the labour is there to deliver WHQS,” he said. “I’m not sure the materials are in the supply chain.

“Then there is tenant engagement. A lot of our contract holders if offered, say, a heat pump will simply say no, they are happy with their gas combi-boiler at the moment.

“Every authority in Wales has the same issue and we are all currently compiling data for the Welsh Government on this. I think when they see that data they are going to have to either make more money available to all authorities or push back the deadline.”