States role to focus on building affordable homes

BBC Lots of houses from above, showing their roofs.BBC
The Committee for Housing is hiring a new housing manager to help boost its building scheme

The Committee for Housing is recruiting a housing development manager to lead the building of new States homes.

The role will be responsible for overseeing the committee's Outline Housing Delivery Plan, which hopes to start building at least 250 affordable homes by the end of the political term in 2029.

Deputy Steve Williams, President of the Committee for Housing said the States had not "been in the business of building homes for over 20 years" and therefore does not have anyone available "with the specific skills and experience needed" for the role.

The position is being offered as a two-year fixed-term contract but secondments from private industry are also being welcomed.

It comes after the committee announced plans to develop new States Housing for the first time in more than 20 years, supplementing the affordable housing schemes being delivered by the Guernsey Housing Association.

The person who gets the job will need to help prioritise which sites to develop, assess viability, engage with landowners, scrutinise development plans and negotiate with developers.

Williams added: "To scale up affordable housing development to the levels needed, it's vital that the States brings forward developments to add to those delivered by the Guernsey Housing Association."

More information about the role can be found on the States of Guernsey website and the requirements of the role can be discussed by contacting the committee secretary at Luke.Bridle2@gov.gg.

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