A “DAMNING” report only highlighted the lack of social housing and the long waiting lists in Worcester, says a city councillor.

Worcester City Council has ruled out a move to start building more social housing as a new report reveals the city is falling way short on the hundreds of new affordable homes that need to be built every year to meet the huge demand.

The council has said it will not be changing tack and building social housing and will instead continue to work with housing providers to try and meet the minimum 458 homes that need to be built every year.

Despite the distinct lack of housing, the council has been advised to scrap any plans for the council to start building social housing on its own as it does not have enough money or space and it would be too risky.

Cllr Matt Lamb said the council was rejecting the “radical” option of becoming a social housing provider “a little too easily” and it needed to be “bold and brave” as the current system was “clearly not working.”

“It’s a big move, I appreciate that, with huge risks but with huge, I think, potential benefits,” he told the communities committee at a meeting in the Guildhall on June 8.

“458 houses needed and we’ve only got 77. Something isn’t quite working there.

“Obviously enabling is about nudging and persuading private sector providers in order to build the houses.

“Clearly that isn’t working because we know that people who build houses are trying to maximise their profits and therefore these kinds of houses are not the ones that make the most money.”

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The council spent £40,000 asking housing specialists Ark to draw up a strategy on how it could do a better job and help bridge the ever-increasing gap in the number of homes needed and how many are getting built.

The report, which was discussed by the communities committee, said the city currently needs at least 384 affordable homes every year but coupled with historic unmet demand that number is now 458 – and higher than the 353 required five years ago.

Cllr Jabba Riaz, chair of the committee, called the report on the state of the city’s housing “damning” which only highlighted more the lack of affordable and the long waiting lists in Worcester.  

“Something drastic has to be done,” he said. “We should be braver and more proactive in what comes out of this. This is a watershed moment and I just hope that we don’t lose the opportunities of being forward-looking and really grasping the issue.”

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Lloyd Griffiths, the council’s director for operations, homes and communities, said he had heard ‘bad and good’ stories about council’s building social housing again.

“This is not a never, this is just a no,” he said. “There are some short-term options that we feel are low-risk and low-cost that we can get on with.”

Cllr Steve Mackay said: “This is public money at the end of the day and the idea of putting such money to such risks at present is, not for me, a good way forward.”