At a meeting on affordable housing, held in Seahouses on Thursday, Mr Mike Haynes, the council head of property claimed that transferring its existing stock to a Housing Association could be the answer to the eventual creation of more affordable housing.
A forum of experts attended the meeting, called by the Berwick Lib-Dems and they heard a single mother from the Embleton district tell how the current situation, which forced her to live in an upstairs flat, had stretched her to the absolute limit to meet the rent. Every time she went out she had to take her small child up and down 20 steps.
Councillor Diana Beith also told the audience that they were going to continue to need rented property and some of the poorest in the region were those who needed homes and were not on housing benefit.
It was claimed that many rented houses out of choice and they would do so in the future. The shortage of affordable homes, especially in the Seahouses-Beadnell-Belford areas was described as 'desperate' and Councillor Beith promised that the borough council would take on board all that had been said.
"A lot can be done, but a lot is being done" she added, revealing that she was concerned at how the new unitary authority in Northumberland would use the assets with which it found itself,
From former Mayor George Scott came a challenge to the residents and the local authority. He said it had been clear for some time that the people living locally wanted action, and an answer had to be found urgently.
First of the panel team to address the audience was Mr Haynes and he stressed that the decimation of housing stock was one of the greatest problems they faced. They had to start at the grass roots, working with the parish councils and the development trusts. There was a need to identify sites, and partners, to make things happen.
Architect Tina Gough said the Government was going into overdrive over affordable housing and many were jumping on the bandwaggon of carbon-free homes. They could cost £60,000 to £100.000 more than existing units.Would that be affordable?
Roy Ashton of Nomad Housing assured the audience that the associations were doing as much as they could but funding was a problem and so was the acquisition of sites. Alnwick had 300 affordable homes on 20 different sites but they needed more but cash was the key.
Joanne Gooding of the Federation of Development Trusts urged people to get their heads out of the sand and invest in their communities. At present they could not find sufficient land or community backing. Working together they could bring forward all the components. The planning tools were there to support rural and sustainable housing.
Owner of Ford and Etal Estates. Lord James Joicey, regarded housing as one part of a tightly developed and viable local economy. In Berwick borough house prices were three times the level of salaries, and there was a need for homes at prices people could afford. There was, he admitted, a place for holiday cottages but his estate had a policy of not letting out second homes.
"We want to keep our tenants for as long as they want to stay," he declared.
Former Councillor Bill Weeks felt the meeting was an instinctive piece of social planning. They had to find the decision makers with sufficient clout to ensure things started moving forward. Discussions had to include the MP, the borough and parish councils and also the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels. The forum was obviously taking a positive look but securing funding was vital because finding a home was a frightening possibility for many people.
One of the great success stories in tackling the problem has been on Holy Island and chairman of the Island Trust, Ian McGregor, said that when they built houses there they insisted on a covenant under which they could not be sold on.
Another ex-Mayor, Mr Tony Hughes, claimed the Berwick local plan was not working and they needed to find the correct balance in all the villages in the Borough.
There were no council houses available in Seahouses and there was a desperate need.
Fortunately the village had persuaded the Johnny Johnson Housing Association to acquire a site and 30 magnificent houses had been built.
"That is good, but we need another 180 here. We have to find a landlord prepared to sell at a price affordable to the Association," he continued.
"We must insist that whatever goes into the planning framework ties in with what is needed."