Today, Salford Council planning panel is expected to rubber stamp applications for over one thousand properties in Media City, Chapel Street, Ordsall and Whit Lane.
From five of these applications analysed by the Salford Star, developers will be evading over £4million in planning fees, while only 43 out of 1,342 houses and flats (3.2%) could be classed as `affordable' (see previous Salford Star article for full details click here).
While councillors will no doubt be patting each other on the back like they did the last time they gave the green light to developers building thousands of unaffordable properties (see here) - housing charity, Shelter, today reveals that Salford is the seventh worst place for high rents out of 41 North West areas.
Someone paying rent for an average two bedroom home in Salford would have forked out £34,064 to their landlord over the last five years, the equivalent of a 24% deposit on the average first time buyer home, currently priced at £141,852.
Government figures released last month showed the depth of the problem, as 'generation rent' continues to grow. Nationally, 46% of 25-34 year olds now privately rent, compared to just 24% ten years ago. With housing costs showing no sign of abating, Shelter is calling on the Government to commit to investing in homes which people on ordinary wages can actually afford to rent or buy. And Salford Council should take note too...
"When just five years of rent could get you the deposit on a house, it's no wonder the North West's renters feel like they're getting a raw deal, paying through the nose for something they can never call their own" says Campbell Robb, Shelter's Chief Executive
"Our drastic shortage of affordable homes is leaving millions of people stuck in their childhood bedrooms in a bid to save money, or in expensive and unstable private renting with little hope of ever saving for a home to put down roots in" he adds "It doesn't have to be this way the Government can turn things around by investing in homes that people on ordinary wages can actually afford to buy, or rent for the long-term."
Meanwhile, this week, the Tory Government's Housing Bill hits the House of Lords, slated by many as the death of social housing. Measures in the Bill include making those already living in social housing pay market rent if household income goes over £30,000 plus an end to lifelong tenancies; while the `right to buy' from housing associations will reduce social housing stocks even more.
The Tories are also attempting to re-defining `affordable housing' as a 20% discount on bought starter homes replacing shared ownership and affordable rent - which would be out of the range of many Salford people.
With the lack of affordable homes being built and the extortionate cost of renting, Salford's housing crisis can only get worse...
*The top ten highest rent places in the North West are, in order, Trafford, Manchester, Cheshire East, Stockport, Cheshire West and Chester, South Lakeland, Salford, Fylde, West Lancashire and Liverpool.
See also previous Salford Star articles...
The £19million Planning Scandal (electronic print issue) click here
High Rises in Salford click here
Will GM Devolution Make Any Difference To Housing? click here
Did Labour Party Mayor Favourite Jump The Housing Queue? click here
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