Oxford is now the most unaffordable place to live in the UK. Houses cost more than 11 times average wages. The country and Oxford's council have a housing crisis on their hands.
Too often, people paying rent get poor service from rogue agencies and landlords. Greens want to take action to drive up standards in rented housing and to tackle the burden of rent.
We believe that access to housing is a human right—the council must do more to meet the housing needs of people in Oxford. Greens support increasing the number of council and social homes available to those who need them.
No council houses have been completed in the last year in Oxford. So when suitable houses become available on the local market, Oxford City Council should purchase them to increase the council housing stock.
PETITION
We demand that Oxford City Council use some of the £10m it has set aside to buy properties for use as Council housing to purchase the Crown House Club on the corner of Crown Street and St Mary’s Road in East Oxford. The Council could then provide 4 flats for immediate rent and a potential additional 5 flats for rent once the non-residential parts of the building are converted for residential use.
We believe the £1m price tag for the Crown House Club, and the potential to create up to 9 Council housing units in an area of housing need, presents excellent value for money for the City Council. With a constant decline in social housing available in the city, it would be a travesty to pass on such a good opportunity to increase the Council's housing stock.
