Birmingham City Council will become the first local authority in England to build family homes exclusively for ex-military personnel, officials have revealed.
The Midlands-based authority, Europe’s largest, has joined forces with the Alderson Trust, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and developer Galliford Try, to outline plans for 12 homes built specifically for ex-servicemen and their families.
Birmingham’s cabinet member for housing, Cllr John Lines said the homes are the first of many planned by the partnership in response to the need of homeless ex-service personnel.
Birmingham has joined forces with the Alderson Trust, the Homes and Communities Agency and developer Galliford TryLocalGov’s sister title, The MJ, this week revealed escalating concerns within parliament and town halls that the Ministry of Defence’s Strategic Defence Review could place councils under significant new housing pressures.
As part of the SDR, the MoD plans to decommission 70,000 troops and their families based in Germany and Cyprus, returning them to the UK in the process. It also plans to axe 25,000 civilian posts and 17,000 armed forces posts as part of its overhaul.
But councils representing garrison towns have warned the MoD and Department for Communities and Local Government have not thought through the likely impact on local authorities of so many troops and ex-troops returning to garrison towns, their home towns or the dynamic south-east of England in pursuit of new work.
Many of the authorities that house military bases are already suffering from housing shortages and although the MoD has said it will provide new homes for returning troops who remain MoD staff, and their families, work will need to be undertaken quickly to meet the demand for homes.
Labour MP Alison Seabeck, who represents the naval stronghold of Plymouth, has written to chancellor George Osborne and Scottish secretary Michael Moore warning of a ‘ticking time bomb’. Local councils, she has told The MJ, could be left to pick up a huge bill for housing, as well as health, education, welfare and care services needed to help troops, or ex-troops, and their families settle into local areas.
Birmingham’s 12 new homes for ex-servicemen will be completed by 2012. Cllr Lines said: ‘We are building homes for our heroes and their families because we believe there should a priority for housing our brave ex-service personnel.
‘The homes are part of over 700 we are delivering across Birmingham through the Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust. In light of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, we want to support those brave men and women who have served in the military to protect our country and this is one small step we are taking to help tackle the demand for homes, which unfortunately, currently exceeds availability.’
