If you missed the Labour Opposition co-leader Cllr Allcock’s recent column on the housing crisis in Brighton & Hove News, here is an excerpt:

Government data showed that 1 in 37 homes here were empty last year and the majority of these were second homes.

In response to this, Councillor Gill Williams, Labour’s opposition spokesperson on housing, brought a motion to the last meeting of full council on 3 February.

Our successful motion called for the council to support the implementation of a “principal residency” policy, whereby new open-market housing planning permission will only be granted where sales or lettings are as a principal residence.

The purpose is to reduce levels of second homes and encourage increased primary residence with year-round community benefits…

…It aims to ensure we don’t have a city full of empty, unaffordable properties that could be used to house our own residents…

…Since the pandemic, the cost of local homes rose 6 percentage points higher than London rates.

Rents are also extremely high, with the average in Brighton and Hove for an entire property at £1,466 per month…

…Our city has also seen a huge surge in homes being bought as second properties and holiday homes.

This, alongside few truly affordable homes being built in the city, has turbo-charged the housing crisis.

To read Cllr Allcock’s Brighton & Hove News column in full click here.