Council house rents to rise by almost 8% in town

New council houses have been built at Grange Park in Blackpool

Council tenants in Blackpool will see their rents rise by almost 8%, which the local authority said would support more investment into social housing.

The increase of 7.7%, approved at the council’s annual budget meeting, follows a 5% increase last year.

It will mean people pay an extra £6 on average weekly rents of around £77.

Councillor Mark Smith , cabinet member for Levelling Up (Place), said council house rents would remain cheaper than the private sector despite the increase.

However, Paul Galley, leader of the Conservative group on the council, said his members would not support the rent rise and warned a £6 a week increase was "a big number for people who are just getting by”.

A council report set out the reasons for the rent rise saying: “Rental income has been impacted by the impacts of the pandemic on customers and continues to face pressure in the current cost-of-living crisis.”

However, more than 83% of tenants receive welfare benefits, including towards their housing costs, and despite cost of living pressures “overall rent collection rates have remained high”.

Support for tenants includes financial advisors working as part of the rents team and a separate project assisting the long-term unemployed back into the labour market.

Blackpool Council owns around 5,000 houses which are managed by its company, Blackpool Coastal Housing.

New houses have recently been built at Mereside and Grange Park council estates.

These schemes include construction of 131 homes at Grange Park as part of a £20m investment, while £10m has been invested in building 75 new homes at Troutbeck Crescent on Mereside, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.