‘Housing shortage will see families forced out’ (From Gazette & Herald)

‘Housing shortage will see families forced out’

1:25pm Wednesday 1st February 2012 in News By David Jeffels

RYEDALE has an acute shortage of social housing, a new report has revealed, which could have a serious impact in the make-up of its population.

Just 42 new ‘affordable’ homes are being built on average each year, while the district has some 1,067 desperately waiting for a home, according to the National Housing Federation.

The stark statistics were revealed at the launch of Northern Rural Housing Week to highlight the plight of families being forced out of the countryside by high property prices and a lack of affordable housing.

Derek Long, head of the northern region of the federation, said: “An average home in Ryedale costs £230,833 – more than 12.9 times the average income.”

His concerns were echoed by Ryedale District Councillor John Clark, a long-standing campaigner for more social housing.

He said: “It confirms what we have been saying in Ryedale for the last ten years. We are not getting any nearer to closing the gap between the number of homes being provided and those on the waiting list.”

Coun Clark said the big worry was that Ryedale would become an area with a much older population and a commuter district because its younger residents would have to move away to find a home and employment.”

He believed the Government should use its quantative easing of finance – “printing more money” – to allocate more money to local authorities to build homes.

“We are in danger of seeing young people and poverty cleansing in Ryedale, which will result in it becoming an area for the retired and commuters,” Coun Clark added.

The NHF says finding suitable land is often a barrier to building new homes in rural areas.

“Often identifying even a small piece of land suitable for development can provide a few vital affordable homes,” said Mr Long.

“Housing associations are working with parish councils to find appropriate land and show that well-designed and environmentally-sustainable development in rural areas does not mean concreting over the countryside.”

He added: “Rural communities in Ryedale are under threat due to a lack of affordable housing. Families who have lived in the countryside for generations are being priced out.

They need new affordable housing or they will have no choice but to move away to urban areas. Housing associations are doing their best to bridge the gap, but they urgently need more Government support to build new homes. Developers face additional hurdles when building social housing in the countryside, but these must be overcome to keep villages alive.

“Hundreds of village shops, pubs and schools are closing year-on-year.

Social housing is a key way to keep local families in villages and ensure rural communities stay alive.”