Tracy Brabin MP, the Labour Mayoral Candidate for West Yorkshire, visited a Halifax housing development site on Friday 12th March 2021, concluding a week of housing events.
The development at Abbey Park, Illingworth, will feature 63 homes for affordable rent and a further 20 for shared ownership. They are being built by Lovell Partnership on behalf of Together Housing Group who are working in partnership with the Calderdale Together Investment Partnership and Homes England. Ms Brabin met senior housing leaders and toured a near-finished property, remarking on the amount of space and the quality of the build.
The event concludes a week where the Labour candidate has focused on social housing in West Yorkshire. She has met with a number of housing associations, all of whom are part of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, a group of the largest West Yorkshire social landlords who are working together to highlight the importance of housing associations in addressing housing needs and economic recovery in the region, while also tackling the climate crisis.
Dave Procter, Chair of Together Housing Group Board, who met Tracy at the development said collaboration was helping communities: “It sounds a cliché to say that housing associations are more than just bricks and mortar, but it is true. That’s why Together Housing, along with other members of the West Yorkshire Housing Partnership, are working together to build homes but also to build stronger, more prosperous, communities. We were delighted that Tracy was able to come and see this work for herself.”
Tracy Brabin MP said: “I grew up on a council estate in Birstall, I know how important it is to make sure that we have decent affordable homes for people. We need homes that work for families, older people, first time buyers and those who want to settle down in the area they grow up in.
“The great work I’ve seen today is exactly what I’ll want to do as mayor – developments that are part of a collective vision from housing associations to provide homes but also support tenants, buyers and local communities.”