Theale Housing Need Survey Underway
Theale Parish Council are in the process of delivering housing need surveys to all householders in Theale. The survey will be open until the 30th of November. If you live in Theale and have not received a copy of the survey contact the Rural Housing Enabler at CCB (Arlene Kersley) and she will send you a copy.
The survey will help to inform the Parish Council of current levels of need in the village for affordable housing but also of the need for specialist housing to meet older people’s needs.
It is important that we get the views of as many residents as possible. The results of the survey will be reported to Theale Parish Council before the end of the year.
CCB’s RHE, Arlene Kersley, is happy to talk to your parish about housing need surveys, rural exception sites and other means of developing community projects. Contact Arlene on 0118 961 2000, or by email at arlene.kersley@ccberks.org.uk
The Housing and Planning Bill 2015
Arlene continues to monitor the proposals in the Housing & Planning Bill that could affect future delivery and sustainability of rural affordable homes. These include proposals for:
• Starter Homes – homes for 1st time buyers at 80% of open market value. You must be under 40 to be eligible for these homes and there is a maximum price of £250,000 on these homes. (NB the average price of a home in West Berkshire is in the region of £270,000) It is proposed that the purchaser will have to retain the property for a minimum time (5 years) before they can sell or rent the property on the open market.
• Extension of Right to Buy to Housing Association Tenants. The details of this are now outside of the Bill as a voluntary agreement has been made between the National Housing Federation (who represent Housing Associations) and the Government. This makes it even harder for the general public to know exactly what the implications are.
It is not yet clear how these initiatives will impact on existing and future rural exception sites where the homes are secured by a legal agreement as affordable in perpetuity. It is also not clear whether the introduction of Starter Homes as an affordable housing option is at the exclusion of all other affordable tenures including affordable rent.
If you want to ensure that our rural affordable homes remain affordable and that we can continue to deliver affordable housing options in rural communities than you should contact your MP with your concerns.
The Housing and Planning Bill passed its 2nd reading stage in the House of Commons last week and is now in Committee stage.
Watch out for my next Housing update on the CCB website as I expect to be providing much more information as it comes available.
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