An AJ FoI request to Norwich City Council revealed that one sale is currently pending in the 100-home Goldsmith Street scheme, which has been named Britain’s Best New Building of 2019 by the RIBA.
The first council housing scheme and only the second housing project to win the RIBA Stirling Prize, Goldsmith Street has been described as ‘moderately fantastic’ and celebrated for its low energy design and generous community spaces.
So far, 159 homes owned by Norwich City Council have been sold through Right to Buy in 2021 to 2022.
Councilor Gail Harris, Norwich City Council’s cabinet member for social housing, said: ‘As a council we are committed to building high quality social housing to increase the number of affordable homes in the city, but we are challenged by the number of Right to Buy lost every year.
‘We have been able to maintain the sale of the right to purchase and the restrictions around the use of funds will make our efforts to achieve a net profit more difficult.’
Councils receive only 30 per cent of property sales through Right to Buy, with the rest going to central government. If this money is not spent within three years, the councils must pay it back.
The sale of the first Goldsmith Street home comes amid a flurry of government plans to extend the Right to Buy policy for housing association tenants following a pilot in 2018. The expansion started in 2015 when David Cameron took over. His election manifesto.
But the move has been widely criticized by the sector and local councils, who argue it will reduce housing stock and put more pressure on housing waiting lists. It will be remembered that Lambeth Council has promised to launch a protest campaign soon.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Association, which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, has warned that the current policy is becoming ‘unsustainable’ as councils struggle to replace homes for sale.
Almost £6bn of right-to-buy schemes have been discounted since the discount rate was increased in 2012, according to a recent report.
Right to Buy was first introduced by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s and was a key Conservative housing policy.
Under the law, council tenants can buy their homes at a discount depending on how long they have lived in the property.
The scheme has helped millions of people onto the housing ladder. However, it has been criticized as depleting the supply of council homes in England, which is being replaced by only one in three, new figures show.
Michael Riches is available for comment.
