A dramatic rise in the number of people on the housing waiting list in the Bridgnorth area has been blamed on lack of building sites. The total has soared by 137 per cent from 521 in 1998 to 1,244 last year as Shropshire Council works to find solutions to the mounting queue.
Councillor Madge Shineton, who is chairman of the strategy and resources committee on the Shropshire Rural Housing Association, said that rural parish councils recognised the need for homes and requested surveys.
“The difficulty is finding a site – it is a stumbling block,” she explained. “People are reluctant to sell us land. People often do not want to go from the rural areas to Telford, Bridgnorth or Kidderminster – they want the back-up of local family support.”
Plans for 14 affordable homes at Worfield have recently been rejected following local uproar and opposition from the parish council. Worfield Parish Council wants ‘affordable’ homes but chairman Margaret Winckler says there are strong reasons for the application being refused, including a history of flooding on the site.
But there is some good news with six new affordable homes to be officially opened at Chorley later this month. Councillor Heather Kidd, the local Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate, this week called on Shropshire Council to redouble its efforts to provide‘affordable homes.
“The recession has placed a serious strain on the availability of homes for local families to rent or buy at an affordable price,” she said. She claimed that Shropshire Council had not been “dynamic enough” to cope with the steep rise and that Government funding was not targeted at rural areas.
“I’m calling on Shropshire to step up a gear on this key issue. They are putting in a special effort on housing in the Oswestry area and Bridgnorth really needs the same. For too long the town and the surrounding area has suffered from a record of poor delivery of affordable homes for local people,” she said.
Shropshire Council communications officer Rian Huxley said there were many reasons for the demand in affordable housing.
“Shropshire Council is working with its partners at Shropshire HomePoint to ensure its housing stock and that of its partners are occupied effectively. The council will continue to work with developers to increase the number of available units within the county.”
It is expected that about 6,600 households will be registered in need of affordable housing by the end of the year.
*See the letters page of this week’s Bridgnorth Journal