Ministerial visit shines spotlight on East Midlands

Residents of a regional landlord had the opportunity to share their housing stories, following a Ministerial visit to the East Midlands.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, The Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, was welcomed by emh and partners in his first leg on a tour of every nation and region in the country, to meet front line workers and external experts to scrutinise budgets, bring ideas, expertise and innovation of the different sectors into the heart of government and help deliver the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change. These insights will help inform the Chief Secretary as he leads the Spending Review across Government.

Darren Jones MP, headed first to Long Eaton to tour emh’s Oakleys Road scheme, which, when completed, will provide 46 new, mixed tenure, affordable homes. The new homes will include 29 homes for affordable rent, and 17 for shared ownership. Work has recently begun on what was the disused site, and the homes are expected to be completed in early 2025. The £10m scheme is being funded and delivered by emh, with a grant contribution from Homes England as part of its Strategic Partnership agreement with Homes England.

At the site, the Minister had the opportunity to hear from emh residents about their lived experience and the difference affordable housing provision makes, and to see final snagging checks completed on one of the properties. He was joined across the day by local Erewash MP Adam Thompson and representatives from emh, Homes England, Erewash Borough Council, National Housing Federation and the developers MyPad.

The tour continued with the Minister visiting Erewash Borough Council offices to take part in a roundtable discussion on the work that is being done in the region to support residents and views on what more can collectively be done to help those in need. Planning, rent setting, growing housing affordability concerns and the challenge of delivering new homes in the current economic climate. The National Housing Federation put forward their economic case for rent convergence.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: “House building is a huge priority for this government. Not only is building more homes vital to our mission to achieve greater economic growth, but it is also a vital component in our ambitions to improve living standards.

“It was wonderful to meet everyone involved in the process of getting residents into new homes in Erewash and understand the pressures and policies that are impacting social landlords, local government and residents. The insights I gathered will be integral going forward as I undertake the Spending Review across Government.”

Chan Kataria OBE, chief executive of emh, said: “We are delighted the Minister chose the East Midlands as his first stop on his tour, and it was a useful opportunity to discuss housing policy matters impacting social landlords such as ourselves, and our residents. We had a welcome open conversation, and made a good case for investment in the region.

“Many thanks to the residents who gave their time to share their experiences of the emh homes they’ve moved into.”

Erewash Borough Council Leader Cllr James Dawson accompanied the minister on his tour of the local affordable housing project. The two later held talks at Long Eaton Town Hall.

James said: “It was a very constructive meeting. It is useful to have these discussions with ministers – and to take them out into the local area to see the issues we are talking about.”