Committee for Housing could return to Guernsey

Tuesday, 2 July 2024 09:55

Seven Guernsey deputies want to see the Committee for Housing reinstated to solve the island's housing crisis.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller has brought the requete, which suggests the political body makes a comeback in the next government term, to accelerate the building of homes.

The States have agreed that the island needs an additional 313 homes built a year until 2027, although far fewer were completed last year.

She says it was a mistake to dissolve the committee a decade ago:

"I feel there was a bit of a political vacuum in the last political term, and this political term we've had to start almost from scratch on a number of different action areas and developing a housing plan for Guernsey."

The deputy sees the Committee for Housing as another principal committee of the States of Guernsey and that it will be set up for at least two political terms.

The medium to long-term plan will help to ease the backlog of identified policies and housing issues.

Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller says housing is a number one priority.

"Currently, the mandate on housing is split between different committees in Guernsey.

"We have to learn from best practice elsewhere and we have to demonstrate, as a government, that we are serious about delivering on what is considered to be a housing crisis."