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South West Housing Initiative. Briefing Note: March 2011

The growth and economic prosperity of the SW are constrained by the shortage of housing - especially affordable housing!

The South West Housing Initiative was created, 6 years ago to address the fact that this region has the country's biggest housing crisis outside London (the affordability gap between average house prices & average earnings, and the delivery gap between demand for new homes & the shortfall of delivering those homes – especially affordable homes).

Update on the region's housing crisis:

Employers' staff and the region's key-workers are struggling to find affordable homes at a time when the planning vacuum created by the abolition of house-building targets and the uncertainty created by the move to "localism" are now decimating the region's home-building plans and performance.

• The SW economy (10% of Britain's economy, and one of the country's strongholds for SMEs and business start-ups) has grown in recent years, but relies significantly on low wage businesses such as agriculture, distribution, aerospace, tourism, construction, and the public sector – all exposed to public spending cuts and the UK economy in general. SWHI surveys of the region's employers underline their concern about the lack of affordable housing, which threatens their ability to:
  • Recruit/retain staff;
  • Constrain wage-claims to sustain their competitiveness;
  • House key-workers (nurses, teachers, fire-fighters, etc);
• The latest figures for household creation show that, up to 2016, an additional 29,700 new households will be created in the SW each year as a result of demographic change and migration (NHPAU). This compares with a new housing supply for the last year of less than 12,000 and, although not all new households will require a new house, the discrepancy between supply and household change is massive.
• House building creates 1.5 jobs per house, with more jobs created indirectly; and every £1 spent on construction benefits the economy by £2.84 (HBF and UK Contractors Group).
• The SW region has the highest proportion of older people of any region, with people over 85 projected to increase by 57% by 2025 (NHPAU).
• The SW region has the worst average affordability ratio – average house price to average income - in England outside London at 12. In some areas it is nearly 20 (i.e., average house price is 20 times average earnings: mortgage lenders work on the basis of up to four times earnings (JRF and SWRA).
• No surprise, therefore, that only 35% of working households can afford to buy a home in the SW (England average 46%) – this is even worse for those under 40, only 21% of whom can afford to buy a home in this region (NHPAU 2010).
• But this region is also the stronghold of the NIMBY resistance to new development (NHPAU).

Is there a solution?

Yes!

• Councils need to be helped to re-build their courage to provide the new homes their communities and employers need to underpin their economy – the SWHI offers help to councils, using examples of best-practice within the region providing arguments and the rationale for accepting well designed new housing;
• Influencers – MPs, Councils, Editors, and business leaders need to acknowledge the region's housing-crisis, and the need to deliver more new – and affordable – homes – this briefing note is part of the SWHI's efforts to engage those influencers;
• Those new homes can be delivered in ways that meet everyone's needs and concerns:
  • Enhancing, rather than reducing local property-values;
  • Quality design and sustainability;
  • Boosting local communities (e.g., helping to sustain local services – schools, shops, pubs, etc);
  • Contributing to the delivery of all the infrastructure improvements to accommodate those new homes – and improve life for existing residents (e.g., roads, healthcare services, schools etc).

The SWHI is working to demonstrate how all these objectives can be met, by highlighting real South West examples.

What can you do?

• Be aware - the South West's lack of new house-building and affordable homes is a huge barrier to the region's economic prospects;
• Recognise that NIMBYism is politically easy, but economically toxic - localism can and must be made to work. Communities need to be persuaded of the local needs for housing and how to resolve them;
• Be willing - to support new housing proposals, support the councils asked to agree those new homes, and change the minds of the voters who want to stop those new homes;
• See the information and examples of solutions on our website: www.southwesthousing.co.uk
• Contact us for further information -
  click on: www.southwesthousing.co.uk/can-we-help/52-can-we-help-form.html