Housing Development: Affordable Homes for Local People

Why build more homes?
Building new homes can often be unpopular. But what if you or a family member cannot afford a decent home? This is why we recognise the importance of ensuring a healthy supply of affordable, sustainable, well-designed and well-built homes for the well-being of local people and communities.

Taking stock
About 620 new homes have been built on average each year over the past five years. Whilst this is more than enough to meet strategic requirements, only 13% have been genuinely affordable.

A typical home currently costs nearly £270,000 to buy. Even the cost of smaller properties is high, currently averaging in excess of £185,000 (source: Land Registry, Q4 2006).

Property prices have nearly doubled over the past five years. Most homes for sale on the open market are now beyond the reach of first time buyers. Consequently, there are a large number of households on the Council's Housing Waiting List.

This is why the District Council has made the provision of more affordable homes a top priority.

Working in partnership
The Council is pursuing initiatives to maintain a balanced housing market and boost the supply of affordable, sustainable, homes for local people.

This complements our work to maintain the quality of the District's existing housing stock.

Whilst we no longer develop housing ourselves, we do work closely with a wide range of partners to enable the provision of new homes. Especially, we work with our local communities and our partner housing associations.

The pages listed below provide more information on these initiatives.

For further information please contact the Development and Enabling Officer on 01789 260843, by fax on 01789 260860, or by emailing housing@stratford-dc.gov.uk