South West Housing Initiative

LATEST SURVEY CONFIRMS THAT “SOUTH WEST MINISTER IS RIGHT” - SOUTH WEST NIMBYs ARE WORST AT BLOCKING NEW HOMES

South West Housing Initiative backs Minister‘s call for councils to resist NIMBY opposition to tackling dire shortage of homes

Three new national announcements have highlighted that the South West has the one of UK‘s biggest housing crises and the biggest problem with NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) opposition to providing the new homes needed to house the region‘s growing population and sustain its economy.

The South West Housing Initiative, the region‘s unique partnership of housing providers, housing professions, and employers, has backed last week‘s call by the region‘s Minister that local councils should resist NIMBY opposition to much needed new homes.

Following the call by South West Minister, Ben Bradshaw, an annual survey reveals that the South West again tops the national league table for NIMBY opposition to new housing. New projections on household growth also underline the region‘s worsening gap between housing need and availability.

According to the latest annual Saint Consulting survey on UK attitudes to development, the South West has the country‘s highest number of people adopting a NIMBY opposition, at 93%.

More than a quarter of respondents (29%) have taken active NIMBY steps to oppose development proposals, according to the Saint Consulting survey, which also found that South West opposition is strongest against both private and social housing.

According to Richard Kitson, Chairman of the South West Housing Initiative (and Chief Executive of the Aster Group of housing associations): “This reluctance to accept that we desperately need new homes in the South West is deeply concerning.

“This region has one of the biggest affordability gaps between average-earnings and average house-prices, and the biggest gap between housing supply and demand for new homes”, said Mr Kitson.

Meanwhile, the Government has unveiled the latest projections on household growth, revealing a need for some 32,000 new homes each year in the South West.

“This fits with the recently announced Regional Spatial Strategy for this region, targeting up to 30,000 new homes per year: but that target has been challenged by the South West Regional Assembly and several local councils”, Mr Kitson said.

“I can understand that accepting new development may not always be popular with local people and politicians. But those who raise objections must recognise that homes are desperately needed for all the people they rely upon for their lifestyle – from public sector key-workers to employees for the companies that underpin the region‘s economy”, he warned.

“Right now, in the deepest housing market collapse for many decades, the number of new homes being built in this region has shrivelled to about 13,000 per year, when there is a proven need for more than twice that number”, said Mr Kitson.

“Market conditions are making it very difficult for both private house-builders and housing associations to develop the new homes the region so badly needs: NIMBY resistance just worsens that problem.

“We understand that people may sometimes have concerns about building more homes because they are worried that they may not be suitable. But planners and developers are working hard to produce homes of high quality and to better environmental standards that will make a positive contribution to the area as well as providing local people with a home of their own”, said Mr Kitson.

“If those new homes – especially the affordable homes – are not built in time, this region will see a disastrous outflow of key-workers and businesses. Neither can the region afford to find that, when people do see the need for new homes, the capacity of housing providers to build them has been lost”, he warned.

END 17th March 2009

For further information please contact David Stugess, Sturgess Van Damme, on 01275 349011 or email david@sturgessvandamme.co.uk