3:15pm Friday 19th March 2010
By Matt Smith
A MASSIVE shortage of affordable housing across Hampshire is today revealed by a housing charity.
Councils are failing to build enough affordable houses to meet the needs of their residents.
A housing league table, compiled by Shelter, shows the Isle of Wight and New Forest councils are delivering the lowest proportion of affordable houses in the county.
Winchester, the best performing council in Hampshire, has only just delivered a third of those needed in the city each year.
Meanwhile, Southampton City Council is struggling with a growing housing waiting list and needs to build 1,000 more affordable homes a year.
The survey comes as Labour councillors in Southampton have called for ruling Tories to press the next Government to develop a “significantly increased”
council house building programme.
Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said: “These figures are extremely worrying. With over 15,500 households on the housing waiting list in Southampton, the council must work far harder to ensure more desperately needed affordable homes are provided if it ever hopes to meet the housing needs of the local population.
“Independent experts commissioned by the council say 1,391 new affordable homes need to be built each year in Southampton, but an average of only 410 have been delivered in the last year, leaving a shortfall of 981 homes per year.”
Local authorities are responsible for identifying the housing need in their area and ensuring enough affordable homes are built.
Mr Robb added: “Councils need to do more to deliver affordable homes but must also be supported by significant Government cash.”
Test Valley council’s housing boss councillor Sandra Hawke condemned Shelter as “irresponsible and unrealistic”
for failing to explain the situations behind the statistics.
Southampton’s housing boss Councillor Phil Williams said: “We take the issue of housing very seriously and are pushing for more to be done to help people at this difficult time.
“I passionately believe that we need to get the economy back on track, make home ownership more affordable and by implication improve the delivery and prioritisation of new affordable housing.
The council is pursuing all opportunities for funding.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thisishampshire.net/trade_directory/