A Bridgend Councillor has spoken out this month about the challenges the local authority faces when it comes to regeneration, housing, and homelessness across the county borough.
Councillor Rhys Goode of Nant-y-moel was given the authority's newly created portfolio for housing planning and regeneration at the annual general meeting of the council in May, 2023, following a re-shuffle of three cabinet positions.
The Labour Party representative, who was found abandoned in a North Cornelly telephone box as a new born baby, outlined a number of plans he hopes to implement over the coming year, as well as describing his pride of representing his home borough of Bridgend.
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Speaking of his new position, Cllr Goode, who has previously worked in Westminster, described his excitement at the prospect of developing and regenerating areas in the borough's valley communities, such as those in the Lynfi, Garw and Ogmore valleys.
He said: "I think it will be a challenge but that's partly why I asked for it. I can't think of much in the borough that could have such a fundamental change as regeneration, and there's so much we can do if we've got the political will and ambition to do it.
"It only takes looking at at the Pavilion in Porthcawl or Maesteg Town Hall to see what can happen, and I cant wait for Maesteg Town Hall to open because I think that will have a fundamental impact on the town.
"One of my main focuses for the next year will also be in developing a place making plan and a strategy for our valleys communities, asking what can we create here, and what does regeneration look like in these places?"
The housing crisis is another key issue that Cllr Goode said he would like to try and tackle in the coming year, discussing what he described as a UK wide issue as well as how it can be tackled on a local level. Sign up here to our Bridgend newsletter
He said: "Homelessness in all its forms is something we need to combat and is something that I would love to see the back of. That's partly where Welsh Government policy has come from, in that we now have a legal duty to make sure that no-one ends up homeless in our borough.
"We are looking at expanding our homeless provisions, including developing a 'wet house' which means that people with things like alcohol problems aren't pushed out of housing because of the nature of their problems, but are in fact brought in to the properties and given support.
"The question isn't just about the people you see actually sleeping rough either, but the people that are homeless without presenting on the streets, such as those who are forced in to couch surfing - a problem that without housing supply we can't solve.
"When we talk about the housing crisis it isn't just something that's going on in Bridgend or south Wales, it's across the entire UK. There's no easy solution for us that can be done in separation from the national picture, but we are doing the best we can with the funds we have.
"We're looking how we can develop policy that renews how we look at housing in Bridgend, from policy that maybe ten years ago would have made perfect sense, but now doesn't.
"We've also developed a rapid re-housing protocol which was put in place just before I was elected and has proved to be really successful, meaning if a person is facing homelessness we have a system that allows them to get access to permanent accommodation quicker."
Cllr Goode, who moved back to Wales from London during the Covid-19 pandemic, said when it came to the creation of more housing across the borough it would need to be met with ambition and balance, in order to meet the area's growing demand.
He added: "We have about £35 million of investment coming through the social housing grant that's currently on target to build 375 new homes in the next three years. Personally I think we need to be more ambitious than that though, and I think we need to be going faster.
"We're expecting to see a population growth of about 12,500 people by 2033 and as a result we estimate we will need around 7,500 new homes across the board.
"We're looking to tackle empty properties as part of this as well with a new council tax premium, and a £50 million Welsh Government fund, the National Empty Properties scheme, so that people who own these properties can apply for grant funding to help renovate their empty properties and bring them back in to use. We need to have that carrot and stick approach to say to people that now is the time to make that investment as we definitely need those homes in circulation."
