Say YES to rural housing to protect rural communities

In our cities, many people can’t afford to rent a home in the neighbourhoods where they grew up. In the countryside, homes are more expensive than in cities and towns, and often way beyond the means of many local residents.

The solution to this problem is simple. We need to build more homes. But to make a bad situation worse, people are saying ‘no’ to much-needed new homes in their community.

“There are many people across South Northamptonshire crying out for new homes to either rent or buy. But far to often they are either stuck unable to buy a house or in homes with escalating rents.” said Scott.

“Across the East Midlands regions more than 22,000 new households are expected in the region every year from 2012 to 2033. Whilst across the region we are building less than 45% of the homes required to cope with this increase.

“The average house price across South Northamptonshire is £249,075 whilst the average wage is only £23,005. This means to get an average  mortgage (75% x 3.5 income) means for the average home people need around £53,373 for a deposit.”

For those renting the news is no better. Private sector rents in the East Midlands are expected to rise by 67% in the next 10 years – an increase of £342 per month, the biggest in the country according to Housing market analysis for National Housing Federation, Oxford Economics, August 2012

Private sector rents in the East Midlands are expectedto rise by 67% in the next 10 years – an increase of£342 per month, the biggest in the country.

This situation must not continue. If we are to keep thriving towns and vibrant village communities we must have house building on a reasonable scale.

“Many people fear house building, not for the fact of housing being needed, but instead more often because of the size of the developments that are unsustainable in the setting”

“We need smaller developments more widely and evenly spread across the district in towns and villages alike. Encouraging the right size of development, in the right places and most importantly at the right price.

This will enable a village or towns population to sustain services such as shops, post offices and schools and encourage people brought up in an area to stay there rather than be forced out by high house prices or increasing rents.”

All too often the people who actually need homes are missing from local debates. That’s why the National Housing Federation have launched the Yes to Homes campaign. They want to make sure people who do support more housing are included in the debate.

They say “What is stopping the right homes, being built in the right place and at the right price where you live? And what can you do to put pressure on local decision makers, mainly councillors, to change things?

The first step couldn’t be easier. Be part of the solution.”

So visit http://www.yestohomes.co.uk/ and ask what your Councillor or Council is doing to address the issue.