Flintshire councillors question Welsh housing standards with £220m cost looming
Flintshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities has branded the Welsh Housing Quality Standard a ‘dream’ unless more funding is provided.
Cllr Helen Brown was reacting to a report before the council’s Environment and Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the standards for social housing. It revealed that the cost of upgrading Flintshire’s housing stock to the required level by 2034 would be a staggering £220 million.
Under what is known as WHQS 2, Social housing stock must be uprated to net zero and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating A, meaning they are fully insulated and reaching the highest levels of energy and thermal efficiency.
This is to be achieved through upgrading internal fixtures and fittings, ensuring insulation and ventilation achieve a required level, decarbonising the entire housing stock and modernising the environment and outdoor spaces to make them more user friendly and biodiverse.
A survey of the 7,354 homes in Flintshire’s housing stock found that the cost to carry out works so that homes meet the standard would cost £220 million.
Cabinet Member for Housing Cllr Helen Brown said that with a £220m price tag, WHQS was unlikely to be realised without extra help.
“WHQS is a dream,” she said. “It’s unaffordable without being fully funded by those who want to impose the standards upon us.”
The problem is not that the authority’s current housing stock is in disrepair – it has met the previous WHQS 1 standards, investing around £136m since 2015 in housing improvements.
WHQS 2 is still under consultation with councils across Wales submitting compliance policies for review to ensure they have captured all the necessary improvements needed – but Flintshire has yet to receive a response.
“I think it’s ignorant of Welsh Government,” said Cllr Rosetta Dolphin. “To ask us to feed back on these proposals and not to respond to say whether they are going to provide extra support or funding. Maybe we should be asking them again if we can have something back.”
Housing Services Manager Sean O’Donnell said Flintshire was not the only authority left in limbo over concerns surrounding a potentially huge WHQS bill.
“We’re in the same position as other councils in Wales,” he said “We are hoping they do return with some feedback for us. What’s happened is so many councils have submitted compliance policies it is taking Welsh Government a considerable time to get through them.
“Our council properties are some of the best built in the UK, but some are among the oldest as well and are not made to reach an energy rating of A because the works will suffocate that property of its ventilation to just retain heat and that will cause additional problems.
“We have asked for feedback. We believe that when we sit down with Welsh Government in March 2027 to present our completed further assessment work and we can present more accurate costs, that’s when we might see some changes to WHQS 2.”
Mr O’Donnell didn’t specify whether those changes would be additional funding or revisions to the necessary housing standards.
Committee chair Cllr Marion Bateman called for the Welsh Government to look again at the WHQS strategy.
“It beggars belief,” she said. “Welsh Government should be more realistic.”
Cllr Carol Ellis also had concerns.
“It is shocking that the standards are required without any funding to take them forward.” she said.
Mr O’Donnell said that officers supported WHQS 2 but agreed Welsh Government would need to be more flexible if it was to be delivered.
“The move from an EPC rating of C to A and net zero is going to cost a lot,” he said. “Unfortunately all authorities are in line to pay a premium for the same thing.
“If Welsh Government were to relax the time frame for us to achieve the standard, that will allow new technology to come into the marketplace, be tested, be more readily available and make it more cost effective for us as a council to meet the standard.”
The committee agreed to note the report and put on record it’s issues in relation to funding.
“The committee notes the capital invest programme in the next phase of delivery as it moves towards the updated Welsh Housing Quality Standard, ensuring the council’s obligations are met,” it said. “We remain concerned around the funding to be provided by Welsh Government in order to meet this obligation.”
By Alec Doyle – Local Democracy Reporter
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