www.silverguide.site –
Your report on homelessness among over‑55s reflects a crisis already hitting those of us just behind them (‘People are so judgmental’: the growing cohort of over-55s facing homelessness, 8 April). I am approaching 50 and living in my best friend’s spare room – not through mismanagement, but because the housing system has stopped producing homes people can actually afford.
Yet we continue to build four‑bedroom detached houses on car‑dependent estates, far from services and transport. These developments do nothing for those facing rising rents, insecure tenancies and shrinking options.
What we need is genuinely affordable social housing within existing towns and cities: accessible, energy‑efficient homes close to shops, healthcare, green space and public transport. Local authorities and housing organisations have long argued for urban densification, but planning policy still rewards sprawl.
A country where people nearing 50 rely on friends for a roof cannot claim to be addressing its housing crisis. Social housing in established communities must be the priority.
Richard Eltringham
Leicester
• The personal stories covered in your article illustrate the financial conundrum which sits at the heart of the UK’s homelessness crisis. By 2029-30, local councils across England alone are projected to spend almost £4bn annually on the provision of temporary accommodation for those experiencing homelessness. Meanwhile, the building of new social housing, the most apparent solution to the issue, is at historic lows. While the government’s intention to invest further in affordable housing is welcome, this will only deliver 300,000 new homes over a 10-year period. There are currently 1.34m households on local authority waiting lists.
With no sign of homelessness rates abating, local councils, central government and wider civil society must come together to devise an exit ramp that transforms our skyrocketing temporary accommodation bill into long-term and sustained investment in permanent social housing stock.
Ryan McKiernan
Managing director, Fat Macy’s Foundation
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