A 'perfect storm' of factors is said to be driving a 'housing crisis' in Coventry where thousands have a recognised housing need. Hundreds more, who are homeless or soon to be homeless, are accessing support from Coventry City Council's housing service.

Councillor David Welsh touched on the issue as he banged the drum for an application proposing 345 homes in Browns Lane, near a green space known as Coundon Wedge, at a recent Planning Committee meeting. In a follow-up interview with CoventryLive, the city's housing boss reeled off figures that magnified the apparent scale of the city's housing dilemma.

"There are 8,100 households on Homefinder," Coun Welsh said. "They've all got a recognised housing need. It might be overcrowding or it doesn't meet their need. One thousand of those households have an urgent need to move.

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"We've only let around 1,000 properties in the last year in the city so you've got a lot of people who need accommodation and there isn't enough properties for them to go to. There's been a failure of government to make sure we get the right kind of housing.

"Social housing and affordable housing more generally requires investment, but also needs the government to be serious about backing it up. They've essentially squeezed out social housing options in favour of other options such as first homes for young people, which is important.

"But when you talk about meeting a wider need of housing in a city you need to look at it from a number of different points of view. There's not one fix for the housing crisis, that's the reality.

"The bottom line is we do need to build more properties and properties people need. We have to address issues around older people wanting to downsize and we've reflected that in local policy with Homefinder, but actually we need the right properties for them to move into."

Coun Welsh (Lab, St Michael's) added: "People talk about social housing, but actually it's about making sure we provide for all those needs. We do need to market bigger houses for families to move into and attract money into the city. We do need accommodation for students, but then we need the option for them to stay if they want to so we need different accommodation for them.

"The same with younger people. I know a lot of people who have just started work on a low wage and they can't afford to move out of home and stay at home until their 30s or they go into a house of multiple occupation.

"There's got to be better options for people. In terms of housing, it's a crisis for every generation."

'Perfect storm'

Mr Welsh said several factors were 'putting a lot of pressure' on the city's housing stock. "The cost of living has definitely had an impact on people's situations," he said. "More families now are feeling the pinch with cost of living and interest rates.

"The last few years we've seen a huge increase in domestic violence and family break-ups. If one family breaks up then you need two family homes. Things like that are driving the crisis we're in. It's a perfect storm, definitely."

In an indirect response to opponents of the controversial Browns Lane scheme, who argued the site was situated on the protected green belt, the city's cabinet member for housing and communities said developing vacant plots on brownfield sites alone would not meet Coventry's quota.

Those who fought the application had also pointed to the fact the 2021 Census population figure was actually far lower than the ONS' 2014 guestimate on which the city's Local Plan and corresponding housing need was based.

A growing homelessness problem

The Labour councillor also shone a light on the problem of homelessness in Coventry. The city's housing service offers early intervention in a bid to help people either stay in accommodation or find temporary accommodation.

He said the number of urgent requests for help received by the service on a weekly basis was around 180. But that number appears to be growing. "Last week, 205 households approached us for housing and homelessness advice," he said.

"These are people who are homeless or about to be homeless. The number of households joining Homefinder is around 135 a week. We are seeing more people in crisis and more people out on streets.

"One of the things we're trying to crack is meeting their complex needs because people will usually have a drug, alcohol or mental health problem. That makes it more difficult because it's not just about providing a bed, a flat, an apartment or somewhere to live - it's about meeting that need."

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