Plaid Calling on County Council to get serious on Affordable Housing - 04/07/07

Cllr John Edwards addressing the Plaid County Group this week said:

"So far as affordable housing is concerned we have been playing at the edges up to now while our communities are drained and our young people suffer. We need to follow the example of Gwynedd County Council and have better guidance in place in addition to the County’s Structure Plan. This  will give greater detail on specific issues than is possible or appropriate in the statutory documents.

Low average income and  the large increase in house prices means that a large proportion of our population is unable to buy houses locally. We need to develop a robust policy and a positive programme in order to increase the provision of affordable housing in our communities. It is also important that house types built should reflect the local housing need, and not based on developer’s motive of maximum profit.

We need to ensure through legal agreements that the benefits of affordable dwellings are available for those residents who have lived or worked within the county or adjacent county for five years or more and that their incomes are too low to enable them to buy or rent on the open market."

Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths added:

"We need to involve our local communities much more in assessing housing needs and subsequent housing development. We must also make sure that where affordable housing is provided, it remains affordable for subsequent purchasers and occupiers.

Any land owned by the County that becomes redundant of its current use, should be looked at favourably  as land for the development of affordable housing."

Leader of the group, Cllr Neil Baker said:

"The Plaid Cymru group will be pressing publish Supplementary Planning Guidance on affordable housing which will provide detailed guidance to users of the planning system on how policies on affordable housing will be applied.They will also provide certainty to developers and communities about the requirements on affordable housing as part of residential developments."