Senator Sam Mézec said he was ‘dismayed’ by the series of measures proposed by his successor as Housing Minister, Deputy Russell Labey, on how the challenges facing the Island’s housing market could be resolved.
With around a year until the next election, Deputy Labey unveiled his proposals last week which include commitments for 1,000 new affordable homes by 2025, as well as £10 million to support first-time buyers and an 80% increase in the supply of new homes annually.
However, Senator Mézec pointed out that many of these recommendations had already been proposed in other government documents. He added that the minister’s plan failed to address the recommendations of the Housing Policy Development Board’s report, which was published in April.
He said: ‘It’s called an action plan but in reality it is just a talking plan. All of the wording within it says “it will review”, that “it will examine”.
‘What the Housing Minister and the Chief Minister should have done is say whether they accept the recommendations of the HPDB.’
House prices in Jersey have increased to record levels, with the average price of a property sold in the first quarter of the year standing at £574,000 – more than double that of the UK.
Earlier this year, Senator Mézec lodged a proposition asking for a ‘housing affordability crisis’ to be declared, with calls for open-ended tenancies and the introduction of rent-stabilisation legislation.
He said: ‘I hope that States Members will back my proposition – it is clear and unambiguous and will save time as ministers will already have decided the changes upfront, so then it just becomes a question of implementation.
‘We could see changes before the end of the year if they back my proposition. This [Deputy Labey’s] report is about kicking [the issue] into the long grass and not having to make decisions now. The next year will involve lining the pockets of consultants rather than implementing policies that they already have on paper. They simply don’t have the guts to stand up to investors – money talks, and unfortunately they are listening.’
He also said he was ‘lost for words’ at the 1,000 new affordable homes proposed in the plan, given that it was a lower pledge than the 1,500 properties set out within the Draft Bridging Island Plan – a document governing future development in the Island.
‘It’s insultingly downgrading,’ he said.
