Families living in 'dire' overcrowded conditions could face waits of up to 12 years to get a council home as the town hall's register continues to grow.

A new report from Stockport Homes, the company which manages council properties in the borough, revealed there are now more than 8,000 people on the list, a figure which one councillor said could be 'double' that when accounting for family members and partners.

Around 5,000 are classed as in 'urgent' need of a council property, according to the report, and could be facing homelessness, eviction, or living in overcrowded conditions.

Medical needs and overcrowding were the most common issues facing residents in urgent need of social housing, the Stockport Homes report stated, adding that overcrowding is 'true across all the blocks' managed by the company, and that 'waiting times are long.'

Mark Glynn, Stockport council's housing chief, said it would take 12 years to find a home for everyone on the housing register if no one else was added to it.

The stark findings were shared at a Stockport town hall meeting on October 15, alongside the Southwark Council Report about the future of council housing.

The Southwark Council Report suggested major changes to improve the housing situation across the country, including a cash injection of £644 million to help cover the cost of council's managing their housing stock, an overhaul to the Right to Buy scheme, and urgent action to increase the building of new council homes.

(Image - Stockport Nub News)

Cllr Colin MacAlister, Stockport council's cabinet member for housing, said the local situation is 'dire' for many residents trying to find a new home, but that some on the register are simply looking for cheaper or better accommodation.

"It's not a recompense, but we are better placed than most of our near neighbours in the situation that we find ourselves in, even though it's still dire for many of our residents," he said.

"There are people on that list in desperate need of housing accommodation, there will be people on that list for forever and a day because they are adequately housed but they'd like a Stockport Homes because it's a better and cheaper form of housing.

"For any government, when they are spending nearly six and a half times more on housing benefit than the capital programme to produce council housing, I think that needs to be looked at seriously. The figures don't add up."

Cllr MacAlister added that the council's housing revenue account (HRA) has got "a huge hole looming in the future," and that there is financial pressure that comes with funding major projects such as refurbishments of Stockport Homes accommodation.

In January, Stockport MP Navendu Mishra said there were around 6,000 people on the borough's housing register, with just 419 available properties at the time.

The Labour MP said the town was facing an "ever worsening crisis of supply and demand" for housing, and claimed the council's housing strategy was not addressing the issue.

Stockport Homes headquarters in the town centre (Image - Nub News)

The Lib Dem controlled council said it is creating thousands of new homes on brownfield land around the borough.

But since then, the borough's housing problem appears to have become worse, with Stockport facing a huge increase in homelessness.

The council said in June that there were 'unprecedented' numbers of people presenting as homeless, with the town hall set to spend more than £1 million on bed and breakfast accommodation this year.

The issues have been made worse by council homes lost through the Right to Buy scheme, which the council said has "decimated" its housing stock.

In September, a report revealed that Stockport has lost nearly half of its social housing since the 1980s due to the Right to Buy, which led to the council calling on the government to suspend the scheme.

Leader of Stockport Labour Party, Cllr David Meller, said the council needs to have "frank conversations" about finding a way forward.

(Image - LDRS)

He added: "In terms of replacing the homes that were lost, it comes back to ensuring that it's not just building social homes, it's about having planning being in the right position for the borough.

"It's not just looking at the HRA [housing revenue account] and looking at the funding, it's having all those other pieces in place as well, it's the local plan, it all comes together."

Much of the political debate around Stockport's housing problems have focused on the lack of a local plan, which the council has postponed a number of times in recent years.

But the situation is not just impacting Stockport, as councils across Greater Manchester face a similar struggle with housing.

The region's town halls expect to spend a total of £75m on temporary housing this year according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), as they struggle to deal with growing demand for affordable homes.

Paul Dennett, deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, said the issue has become an "existential threat" to councils around the region.

He added: "We are seeing councils up and down the country going bankrupt and temporary accommodation overspend is a significant element of that.

"This should be a huge concern across this country right now and for us in Greater Manchester."

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