West Suffolk Council responds to criticism of Flagship housing association selling Newmarket social housing at auction

A council has revealed it was offered the chance to buy two houses being sold at auction by a social housing provider.

The sale of the properties in Newmarket’s Exning Road had come under fire from town councillors, who said it was ridiculous to sell social housing stock when there were more than 2,000 families currently waiting to be housed in West Suffolk.

But West Suffolk Council said the two properties, at 264 and 295 Exning Road had major structural issues and, based on that information, it decided not to buy them.

Last week 264 Exning Road was sold at auction for £147,000 after 48 bids were received, starting at £100,000. The semi-detached property has gas central heating and double glazing and was described by seller the Flagship Group as in need of further improvement, updating and possibly some repair.

Newmarket town and district councillor Kevin Yarrow, who has questioned the sale of Flagship properties, said: “I am alarmed to learn our social housing stock in Newmarket is being further reduced at a time when there are thousands of families in desperate need of housing.

“There is not enough social housing stock for families in need because the housing associations continue to sell them at auction. The homes then reappear on the commercial market at unaffordable and grossly inflated rents. This needs to be challenged at every level in order to preserve our social housing register for our residents.”

Cllr Richard O’Driscoll, West Suffolk Council cabinet member for housing.“While we share the concerns raised by Newmarket councillors about the loss of any affordable housing in the town, Flagship has given its explanation as to why it feels the need to sell these specific properties at auction and has committed to reinvesting in affordable housing in West Suffolk.

“Flagship did keep us informed of the issues and gave us first refusal on these properties. Based on the information they sent us we decided not to progress with a purchase.

“We don’t want to lose any social housing and I know our property team looked at these houses in detail.”

The second property, at 295 Exning Road, also a three-bedroom home, with the benefit of recently-applied external insulation cladding, is set to go under the hammer next month with a guide price of £100,000.

A spokesman for the Flagship Group said: “The vast majority of homes we own are re-let when they become vacant. Our mission is to solve the housing crisis and, to achieve this, we occasionally sell a small number of our oldest and least energy efficient homes. This approach allows us to reinvest in our existing properties and build new, high-quality homes.

“In the 12 months to March 31 this year, we sold just 168 homes, around 0.5 per cent of our total housing stock. During the same period we added 849 to the total number of homes we own and manage – roughly five times as many. We now own more than 33,000 homes across the east of England and we plan on increasing that in the years ahead.

“We carefully evaluate every proposed sale to ensure it aligns with our commitment to providing safe, energy-efficient homes. Even homes with existing energy efficient measures may not meet the long-term energy efficiency or quality standards we set for our tenants.

“Flagship is committed to improving and increasing the number of homes we own and manage in Newmarket. This includes our ongoing work with existing communities like Icewell Hill, where we have recently removed some redundant garages to create much needed parking, improved communal areas and installed new lighting.”