Region building on success - more affordable housing completions in 2007/8
02 July 2009
The number of affordable houses completed in the East of England by April last year reached a seven-year high, the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) revealed today in its Annual Monitoring Report. 5,208 new affordable homes were completed in 2007/8 compared with 4,411 during the previous year.
This will come as welcome news to many in the Region, however the figure still falls short of the regional need for new affordable homes. In a recent report commissioned by EERA, the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research conclude that 11,600 affordable homes are required annually up to 2031 to meet regional needs.
The Annual Monitoring Report highlights the challenges that local authorities face in addressing the key issue of providing the large number of affordable homes that are needed. With an ageing population, migration into the region and smaller households, the need for housing in the Region continues to grow. At the same time, house prices are still high and mortgage lenders are increasingly cautious so the provision of affordable homes is vital in helping those priced out of the open market onto the property ladder.
The ‘credit crunch’ has meant that the number of mortgage products available is heavily restricted, deposits required are higher and lenders are increasingly unwilling to lend at higher multiples of household income. Mortgage funding is particularly difficult to obtain for households with compromised credit histories or those in less secure employment.
Councillor Susan Barker, Chair of EERA’s Housing and Sustainable Communities Panel, said: “We know that affordable housing makes a powerful, positive contribution to the economy, to a better environment, to healthier more diverse communities and healthier people.
“The delivery of new, affordable housing is therefore one of the region’s top priorities. With an average house price in the East of England of nearly £230,000, increasing numbers of people are finding it impossible to get onto the housing ladder. The supply of housing is difficult to predict in the long-term. The ‘credit crunch’ has resulted in a sharp decrease in new construction projects.”
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For further information or to arrange an interview with an EERA spokesperson please contact Claire Sefton on 01284 729427 or email Claire.sefton@eera.gov.uk
Notes to Editors:
Affordable housing completions (new build) in 2007/8 and 2006/7
% of all housing and actual number
County & Unitary
Authority % no. 2007/8 no.2006/7
Bedfordshire 19 392 234
Luton 8 46 39
Cambridgeshire 19 844 788
Peterborough 20 202 213
Essex 15 779 531
Southend 11 32 25
Thurrock 16 27 63
Hertfordshire 26 1251 1222
Norfolk 16 827 633
Suffolk 18 808 663
East of England total 18 5208 4411
Housing figures
EERA has advised Government that 23,700 more affordable homes can be delivered by 2011 as follows: 2008/9 – 6800, 2009/10 – 7900, 2010/11 – 9000.
EERA’s Annual Monitoring Report 2007/8 can be found at: www.eera.gov.uk/publications-and-resources/annual-monitoring-reports. Affordable Housing figures appear on pages 73-79.
EERA has a statutory obligation to publish an annual monitoring report containing information on the implementation of the regional spatial strategy and the extent to which its policies are being achieved. This year’s Annual Monitoring Report is the first to be produced following the publication of the East of England Plan in May 2008.
The full AMR can be accessed on EERA’s website together with accompanying background papers on demographic issues, the housing market, employment, waste and water resources. A full set of data tables, including time series data, is also available together with an interactive data atlas.
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is subsidised housing that can be for rent or part-purchase for households who cannot afford to rent or buy on the open market. It includes subsidised social renting, key worker housing, shared ownership, equity sharing, sub-market renting and discounted market ownership. Further information is available at the Department for Communities and Local Government http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingsupply/affordablehousing/
Affordable housing can be delivered through grants to housing providers (usually Housing Associations) or secured from private developers through local planning policies that require a certain percentage of development within a local authority area to be affordable.
Housing providers have to bid for funding from the Single Regional Housing Pot which is administered by the Housing Corporation. Further information is available at: http://www.housingcorp.gov.uk/server/show/nav.446
Housing and Sustainable Communities Panel
The panel provides advice to Ministers on how regional housing funds should be allocated and is responsible for the development and implementation of a regional housing strategy.
East of England Regional Assembly
The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) exists to promote the economic, social and environmental well-being of the region through a partnership of elected and stakeholder representatives and is recognised by two Acts of Parliament. For more information, go to www.eera.gov.uk
Housing and Sustainable Communities Panel Group Leaders
Cllr Susan Barker (Chairman), Conservative, 07899 914232
Cllr Trevor Miller (Panel Group Leader), Liberal Democrat, 01245 472948
Cllr Paul Kirkman (Panel Group Leader), Labour, 01268 474528
Rt.Rev. James Langstaff, (Panel Group Leader), Community Stakeholder, email: bishoplynn@norwich.anglican.org