00:00Finding a secure and affordable home is becoming harder for many families across the West Midlands.
00:06New figures by the West Midlands Combined Authority show more than 65,000 households are on social housing waiting lists.
00:16More than 7,000 households are also living in temporary accommodation, including almost 15,000 children.
00:24The pressure is clear, but building more homes is not straightforward.
00:28A report to the authority says the region's industrial past has left many former factory and workshop sites derelict, polluted
00:37or difficult to reuse.
00:39These brownfield sites are often seen as the right place to build because they can bring empty land back into
00:45use and protect green spaces.
00:47But cleaning them up can be expensive.
00:49Developers may have to deal with contamination, poor ground conditions, demolition work and complex land ownership before homes can even
00:58be started.
00:59The Combined Authority says grant funding has already helped unlock thousands of homes on brownfield land and new funding arrangements
01:06should give local lenders more flexibility over where the money is spent.
01:11But the central challenge remains the same.
01:14The region needs many more homes, especially affordable and social homes, while the places they could be built on are
01:22often the hardest and most expensive sites to deliver.
01:25For families waiting, the issue is both urgent and personal.
01:29person's staff is on the right side as the aven Start Up.
01:30The Participants' Matterswalking in the UK
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