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Councillors from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council were briefed today, 27 August on the significant budgetary challenges facing the Housing Executive in delivering its Strategic Housing Authority programmes and services.
Grainia Long, Chief Executive of the Housing Executive, provided the annual Housing Investment Plan (HIP) briefing to local councillors, highlighting the organisation’s achievements over the past year and outlining the planned programmes for the year ahead.
During the meeting, Grainia Long stated: “The current budgetary landscape is proving challenging for public services, with housing particularly hard-hit.
“You will notice in our Housing Investment Plan update the severe impact the proposed budget will have on housing output in 2024/25, especially regarding the reduction in the number of new social homes we can commission across all council areas.
“It is deeply concerning that we may be unable to fully fund many of the essential programmes needed by our customers, including homelessness prevention and Affordable Warmth initiatives.
“These programmes are crucial components of the services we provide as the Strategic Housing Authority.
“Fortunately, we are able to continue investing in the services we deliver as a public landlord, benefiting our tenants.
“Over the past year in Newry, Mourne and Down, we invested £7.26 million in planned maintenance, including stock improvements, with a further £7.96 million spent on response maintenance.
“We aim to increase this in 2024/25, with a proposed spend of £10.26 million on planned maintenance and £8.32 million on response maintenance.”
In 2023 the Housing Executive invested £36.36 million specifically on energy efficiency improvement measures across their homes, and they plan to maintain this investment during 2024/25.
The Chief Executive added “This investment includes the completion of our Energy Efficiency in Social Housing project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which improved energy performance, reduced carbon emissions, and enhanced health and well-being in over 1,400 homes across Northern Ireland, including Newry, Mourne and Down.
“We have worked hard to support the most vulnerable in our communities, investing £6.21 million through the Supporting People programme to fund 61 services delivered by partner organisations across the district.
“This investment provided housing support to 1,236 individuals last year.
“Across the district, 802 people who presented as homeless were accepted for support last year. While budgetary constraints pose real challenges in this area, our focus on prevention and early intervention will continue.”
Building cohesive, thriving, and supportive communities across the district remains a key focus of the investment plan for 2024/25.
Ms Long added: “We supported local communities with over £59,000 in funding through our community grants, community safety, and community cohesion programmes.
“We understand the importance of inclusion and good relations in helping people sustain their tenancies and build strong communities.
“This is more crucial than ever as we face ongoing challenges in the housing sector, with persistent demand for social housing and homelessness services.
“Last year, we continued to invest in new-build homes in the district, with 528 housing association units under construction as of March 2023 and 97 housing completions for the year.
“Due to budget constraints, the new-build home programme for the coming year will fall considerably short of our targets, further widening the gap between housing demand and supply.
“It is vital that we continue to work in partnership with councils and the housing sector to find solutions.
“In addition to investing in homes and communities in 2023/24, we are pleased to have supported the economic future of Newry, Mourne and Down with a sustained, positive impact on employment and local supply chains.”
“Looking ahead, it is clear that we face significant challenges, but we remain fully committed to the objectives set out in our Housing Investment Plan 2023-26.
“Despite these difficulties, delivering our housing objectives is essential to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of Newry, Mourne and Down.
“Partnerships with local councils remain crucial, and I look forward to further collaboration as we strive to achieve our shared goal of creating better places to live for the people and communities we serve.”
For more information, visit www.nihe.gov.uk
