A decent, affordable home is as essential as having clean air to breathe, and should be a right for us all, wherever we live across the country. It is the foundation of our health, happiness and prosperity.
I met with the National Housing Federation to discuss our shared desire to see a clear long-term plan to meet housing needs, built around a set of tangible and sensible outcomes that drive real change, year on year.
Development should not be led by demanding targets set by far-removed planning directors. A desire for commonsense and sensitivity to local areas must not be dismissed as NIMBYism but, rather, considered a priority for a long-term sustainable meeting of necessary targets.
Last week was also #RuralHousingWeek which highlights the important work that housing associations and parish councils do in rural communities, like Ferring, Kingston Gorse and East Preston, to help address some of the challenges that local people may face when living in such an area (e.g. high house prices, a shortage of affordable homes to rent, increasing levels of second home ownership and holiday lets).
I commit to working closely with the National Housing Federation through their Meeting Housing Need Group toward an achievable vision for a brighter future for housing.
