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More than 5,500 people are waiting to be housed by Caerphilly County Borough Council, according to latest figures from the local authority.

Of the 5,541 active applications, 1,029 are from applicants already in council housing. This means there are 4,512 applicants on the council house waiting list who are not already in council housing.

The council’s current housing stock includes around 10,600 properties, with 242 unoccupied.

But what is being done to address the imbalance between demand and suply?

A spokesperson for Caerphilly County Borough Council said it was “committed to using a range of methods to help meet demand for affordable housing”.

This includes working with housing associations and “securing properties with private developers via Section 106 agreements”.

The spokesperson continued: “We also recently embarked on our own ambitious new build programme for the first time in almost 20 years, with two sites in the Caerphilly basin area where homes have been built to Passivhaus standards using innovative modern methods of construction.”

Six council-owned one-bedroom flats have been built on the site of the former 49 Club in Trecenydd, while 12 one-bedroom council-owned flats are being built on Llanfabon Drive, Trethomas.

The council’s spokesperson said it hopes to use these developments as a “blueprint for future larger developments that are currently in the pipeline”. 

They added: “We have also purchased several homes in the county borough that were previously sold through the Right to Buy, in order to further increase our council housing stock.”

Labour councillor Shayne Cook, who is the council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “It’s quite clear that to meet present and future housing needs for the residents of Caerphilly, we need to be building more social housing.

“I’m happy that the council retained its housing stock, which has gone some way to easing the situation. However, we need to expand – that is why the cabinet has already agreed an ambitious target of building 400 new affordable council properties.”

Cllr Cook continued: “These new council homes will be carbon free and will help not only fight climate change but save residents with increasing energy costs.”

What is the process?

A council spokesperson told Caerphilly Observer: “In terms of the process, all housing applications are assessed in accordance with our Common Allocation Policy to ensure that the assessment process is transparent, consistent and fair.

“For those applicants where an additional medical need is identified, then a referral is made to the Housing Occupational Therapist team who will undertake an additional assessment to ensure that the correct band and property type meets longer term housing need.

“There is high demand for social housing accommodation and this includes the demand for bungalows and accommodation that is suitable for medical need. As a result of this, applicants that require specific accommodation can still face lengthy waiting times to be made an offer of accommodation as a result of the availability and turnover of this type of accommodation.”

Stuck on the waiting list

Seventy-year-old Martin Llewellyn returned home from hospital earlier this summer after having his right leg below his knee amputated, following a gangrene infection in his foot.

It is the most recent in a long list of health issues Martin has been faced with.

At home, he has to spend a couple of hours a day on his dialysis machine, which helps filter his bodily fluids due to his end stage renal failure – which means Martin’s kidneys don’t function as they should.

He also has reynard’s disease, which causes numbness and coldness in his fingers and toes, as well as emphysema – a lung condition causing shortness of breath.

He has also battled cancer three times and has a colostomy bag fitted. On top of this, he is also wheelchair-bound.

Martin has lived in a semi-detached house in Abertridwr with his wife, Jan, for around 30 years – but Martin’s disabilities now make living in the house, which the couple own, difficult.

He told Caerphilly Observer: “I’ve spent £2,500 on a stairlift and £800 on a chair. That’s my savings gone.

“Jan can’t take me outside because she can’t push me up the hill or the ramp.

“The bathroom and doorways in the house are small, meaning its hard to get around in the wheelchair.”

Martin is also unable to get into the shower and needs a wet room fitted.

He struggles to get out of his chair and into his wheelchair and it is strenuous work for Jan to help him. Martin also finds it tough getting out of his wheelchair into his stairlift – making getting around the house tiring work.

Ill health meant he had to retire 15 years ago – forcing him to leave behind his job as a machine operator – a job which took him up and down the country and a job he says he loved.

Ideally, the couple would like to move into a bungalow, and applied to Caerphilly County Borough Council for a place on the waiting list around a year ago.

However, the couple have been placed in Band 2 and had their appeal to move up to Band 1 rejected.

“The most important thing we need to do is build social housing“

Homelessness charity Shelter Cymru has argued that more social housing is needed to address the growing need for housing.

A spokesperson for the charity told Caerphilly Observer: “The cost of living crisis is pushing more and more people into housing need.

“Private rents have gone up in Wales faster than anywhere in the UK outside London, so it is little wonder that so many people are desperate to get a council home.

“Alongside waiting lists there are also nearly 8,000 people across Wales who are homeless and staying in temporary accommodation.

“The most important thing we need to do is build social housing, so it’s fantastic that Caerphilly Council is planning multiple sites so that we can increase numbers of good quality, affordable council homes.”