Thousands wait for council house

OVER 40,000 unfilled applications for housing have been made across the North East this year, new data has revealed.

- By AUSTEN SHAKESPEARE

Figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) through freedom of information requests show that at least 44,887 applications remain on waiting lists for some form of social housing across the region. The breakdown of pending housing applications by council area through available data is as follows:

■Northumberland County Council: 12,275

■Durham County Council: 10,250

■Newcastle City Council: 8,471

■Gateshead Council: 6,720

■South Tyneside: 3,785

■North Tyneside: 3,386

The LDRS awaits figures from Sunderland City Council, which is still within the time limits under the Freedom of Information Act to provide the requested data.