Last week we saw lots of positive change in Brighton and Hove, writes council leader Bella Sankey. On Thursday we formally opened a new affordable housing development in Coldean. This is the second major development to come from the Council’s joint venture with the housing association, Hyde Homes. In Coldean we have built over 200 affordable homes including 127 new one, two and three bed council homes. The development is surrounded by nature and close to Stanmer Park. There are sea views from the flats and local schools nearby that will benefit from much-needed higher school admissions so this will be a win win all round. The homes have been beautifully designed and landscaped with wellbeing and good health in mind.

Your Labour council is determined to increase the supply of affordable and council housing in our city which is crying out for more family homes. Everywhere I go I speak to residents and businesses who tell me their single biggest challenge is housing. Families that are badly overcrowded and need more bedrooms. Small and medium business owners unable to hire or retain staff because housing, both renting and buying, costs too much.

Along with the 127 new council homes in Coldean, we’ve delivered 38 council homes in Whitehawk and 42 council-rented homes in Portslade. Earlier this month, the housing and new homes committee, chaired by Councillor Gill Williams, approved the process for appointing contractors so that work can get under way on building 200 council homes in Moulsecoomb along with a community hub, GP surgery and 5G football pitch. And we are now looking to build more affordable and council homes at an even faster pace. We will need to work with a wide range of partners to do this.

As well as building more homes, we’re already taking action on empty and second homes, by applying a premium which will raise additional revenue in recognition of the impact that second and empty homes can have on communities and housing supply.

And we’re actively exploring options to enforce developers in the city to meet the minimum requirement to provide 40 per cent or above affordable housing as part of any new development, a requirement that has not been met by some developers in recent years.

Almost one in three homes in our city are rented and we want to ensure that renters in our city are protected and provided with safe and comfortable accommodation that is of a high standard. This month we also approved a new Landlord Licensing Scheme to give the council the ability to set conditions on property management and maintenance standards and allows enforcement action to be taken where requirements aren’t met. This is a huge achievement and follows years of work by both Acorn Union and the Labour Party in the face of Green Party delay. We’ve also reinstated regulation for Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) which lapsed under the last Green administration.

Last week I also attended a groundbreaking event at Sussex University to mark the start of the West Slope development which will provide 2,000 student bed spaces on campus. This is a fantastic development for our valued student population, and as vice-chairwoman Sasha Roseneil recognised in her remarks it will, importantly, relieve pressure on our housing stock in the city. The Lewes Road area in particular has a high proportion of student housing and in 2019 the last Labour administration took action to give us greater planning control to restrict applications for HMOs. While this has had some impact, increased provision for student housing on campus will undoubtedly improve this.

Last week we also announced that together with Brighton and Hove Buses, we have been successful in securing nearly £3 million for new zero emissions buses. The new electric buses will help to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality along the route 7, an essential service that operates up to every six to eight minutes across Brighton and Hove and in some of the city’s highest emission areas.

They will also offer the high standard of accessible features that are provided on board most Brighton and Hove Buses including induction loops for passengers with hearing aids, dementia friendly floors and a flexible space for a second wheelchair user or multiple pushchairs or prams.

We are ambitious and determined to address the joint housing and climate crises but we know that we need national policy change to be able to deliver at the pace and scale required.

As we inch closer to a general election (whenever Rishi “chicken” Sunak plucks up the courage to call one) we know that significant and positive change is just around the corner under a new and energised Labour government.

Bella Sankey is the Labour leader of Brighton and Hove City Council