Press
Release
At the last Full Council meeting the ruling Conservative
and UKIP administration brought forward an Interim Affordable Housing Policy.
This document attempts to define a policy for section 106 agreements, where
developers agree to an element of affordable housing within any significant
development.
‘Affordable’ means different things to different people.
What is affordable to some is not affordable to others.
Cllr Ware-Lane is concerned that this barely addresses
the housing crisis impacting our town: "This document talks about
affordable housing, but what we need specifically is more social housing to
rent. With private sector rents sky-high, many local people
are struggling to afford decent places to live."
Cllr David Norman added "This is a weak document. We
witness many examples of developers trying to evade their responsibilities."
Cllr Norman
added: "I hope the current administration recognises the chronic need for
new social housing in the borough. I was proud to have been the Portfolio
Holder that oversaw the first new council housing in the borough for a quarter
of a century."
