A TEESSIDE council has backed a campaign to increase social housing which would allow it to borrow more money to build.

Hartlepool Borough Council has pledged support for Social Housing Under Threat (Shout), a cross-party campaign to increase the number of council and housing association houses available.

The council said there was a shortage of affordable rented houses across large sections of the town.

Councillor Robbie Payne, chairman of the regeneration services committee, said: “Clearly, there is a need to reverse a decline in social housing provision which has come about over a number of years due to a variety of factors, including the failure to replace homes sold under Right to Buy legislation.

“We agree with Shout that it is time to say enough is enough if we are to have a genuinely affordable, flourishing and fair social housing sector.”

The campaign’s demands include:

• The building of 100,000 new social rented homes each year;

• The removal or easing of current restrictions on council borrowing for housing to enable the building programme to be funded;

• A significantly larger social housing grant programme and a robust regime for private developer contributions;

• The replacement on a like-for-like basis where there is a need of all social rented homes lost through Right to Buy, voluntary sales and conversions to “affordable rent”;

• The setting of targets by the Government for surplus public land to be made available for social rented housing;

• The proper regulation of social rented housing to encourage high-quality management with tenants involved to the degree they choose.