Why High Ham Parish needs ‘social rent homes’
In these current, uncertain times, people want security in their jobs, their home life and in their housing. The cost of housing can cause stress for many, having a negative impact on their health, relationships and employment. Whether people own or rent, the affordability of their housing plays a vital role in the choices they are able to make for both themselves and their families. In December 2017 the High Ham Parish Council conducted a survey of the parish to identify the number of people in need of local housing, from which it emerged that the provision of six affordable homes to rent would go a long way to fulfilling local housing needs. This was the impetus for the formation of the High Ham Community Land Trust, which aims to provide precisely such homes, which will enable local people to continue to live in their home community.
In 2019 a report by the National Housing Federation stated … ‘More than 8m people in England – around 1 in 7 – are living in an unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable home…that 340,000 new homes are needed every year, including 145,000 social homes. Now, the National Housing Federation, along with Shelter, Crisis, the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the Chartered Institute of Housing, is calling on the Government to build these social homes by investing £12.8bn every year for the next decade.
This must include:
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90,000 homes for social rent
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30,000 homes at intermediate affordable rent
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25,000 shared ownership homes