Speakers at CIH SW Conference 2008 call on Local Authorities, Land Owners, Planners and Developers to do more to meet the demand for affordable housing in the South West

John Prescott, who in his former role as Deputy Prime Minister was responsible for the Environment, Regional Development and Planning policy in the UK, told Local Authorities in the region that they have to do more to meet the increasing demand for affordable homes in the region. Speaking at the CIH SW Housing Event 2008 in Torquay last week, he said, "Many Authorities have failed to secure sufficient house building, even by their own standards and targets. The former Avon, Devon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are all falling short of their targets. If every county had achieved the target they set themselves there would be 6,000 more homes in the South West, a large proportion of which would have been social housing".

These sentiments were reflected by Michael Eavis founder of the Glastonbury Music Festival and champion of affordable housing. He said, "Landowners and parish Councils need to get more involved in the provision of affordable homes in the South West. A radical change is needed, it needs confronting now. Perhaps there could be some tax relief or retirement tax to encourage landowners to give over more land. We also have to work with NIMBYs to overcome their not in my back garden attitude."

Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St.Austell and special advisor to Government on Sustainable Rural Communities summed the problem up in his keynote speech, "In our rural communities the mix of affordable options is not there and the massive escalation in house prices bears no relation to rural wages. We have to have a clear long term vision to create more affordable homes in our region."

Notes for Editors

The mission of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is to "maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the well being of communities."

CIH is based in Coventry and has regional branches all over the UK and In Hong Kong. The South West branch of the CIH covers the whole of the South West from Swindon to Cornwall, from Bristol to Dorset.

The key aims of the CIH South West are:
To support and encourage students and members in the South West
To promote membership of the CIH
To develop joint working with associated professional bodies
To raise awareness of housing issues in the South West

For further information please visit the CIH website at www.cih.org or contact Gill Smith Publicity officer, CIH South West - gill.wordsmith@ntlworld.com or call 01202 466527.