HRH The Princess Royal, President, Rural Housing Trust attended CIH SW Housing Event on Thursday 10 April 2008 at the Palace Hotel, Torquay

HRH The Princess Royal, President of the Rural Housing Trust spoke about the lack of affordable housing in villages where the opportunities to rent, buy or part buy a home are nearly non existent. HRH said, "Behind the so-called rural idyll is a genuine housing problem. Small developments can make the difference between a dying and vibrant community. The impact of affordable housing on villages is that it keeps families together, retains local services and provides homes for key workers like retained fire-fighters.".

HRH The Princess Royal told delegates, "Housing affordability in the South West is not so much a gap as a chasm" in her keynote speech at the 24th Housing Event.

She also added that arriving at Torquay on a sunny day reminded her of why so many people wanted to buy second homes in the South West and how this is part of the affordability problem in a region where house prices are nearly 12 times the average income and one in every 15 families is on the waiting list for social housing.

She concluded by saying, "Building houses where people need them sometimes requires a little more understanding and imagination and knowledge of what those communities want."

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.