Posted: Wed 29th Jan 2020

Updated: Wed 26th Feb

HS2 spend “immoral” in face of homelessness rise

North Wales news and information
This article is old - Published: Wednesday, Jan 29th, 2020

The spending of billions of pounds on a high speed rail network and renovating the Houses of Parliament has been described by one Gwynedd politician as “immoral” while the county faces an increasing homeless problem.
Addressing a council cabinet meeting, Cllr Craig ab Iago noted that such levels of spending on the oft criticised HS2 – a proposed high speed rail network connecting London with the north of England –  would be “wrong.”
A report, presented to decision makers meeting in Caernarfon on Tuesday, noted that Gwynedd’s Homelessness Service has seen a rise in the number of applicants from 560 in 2014/15 to 768 in 2018/19.
But while it outlined that homelessness was successfully prevented in 73% of the cases, the lack of one bedroom accommodation in the county was described as a “major barrier.”
Addressing members, Cllr ab Iago said: “As the report states, the number of people presenting themselves to the (homelessness) service is on the rise.
“As a Plaid Cymru politician, in my opinion it is immoral and wrong that levels of homelessness are on the rise throughout Britain while we spend billions on HS2 and £300m on Buckingham Palace and another £5bn on Westminster, we forget the people who really need our help.
“But that’s systematic to be honest and while we point the finger at the Tories, its not a dictatorship and for some reason the people of Britain have decided they want more of it.”
Cllr ab Iago’s report went on to note, “Affordable accommodation, especially for under 35s, remains a general obstacle to reducing the likelihood of becoming homeless in the first place.
“A number of the schemes, such as Supported Housing for Young People, or the Supporting People scheme, will contribute towards attempting to minimise this problem.
“I believe that we need to carry out further work to fully understand which
areas have the greatest demand for accommodation, and to see whether
we can intertwine the work of planning accommodation with local
economic regeneration schemes.”
According to the authority, since April a total of 56 previously empty homes came back into use as a result of working with private landlords, while also funding a pioneering £40,000 project.
Homelessness support charity GISDA has been commissioned by Gwynedd Council in a bid to reach young people in crisis before they become homeless.
Meanwhile, Gwynedd Council is also experimenting with energy-efficient prefabricated “pods” in a bid to reduce the housing waiting list.
Earlier this year the authority applied to build four such pods on the former site of Caernarfon’s Ysgol Pendalar, based on building principles which cut heating requirements and the resulting bills by up to 90%.
According to the UK Government the complete “High Speed 2” project is estimated to cost £56 billion, but independent estimates put the total cost much higher, at least £107.9bn.
During Prime Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, despite a chorus of shouts of “no” from his own backbenches, Boris Johnson confirmed that a decision on whether to proceed with HS2 will be made “very shortly.”
Buckingham Palace is currently undergoing a £369m tax payer funded refurbishment, while  the refurbishment of the current Palace of Westminster, due to cost £4bn, is estimated to be completed by the 2030s and is expected to see MP’s temporarily move to Richmond House – the former home of the Department of Health.

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter



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