RADICAL new policies to ensure more affordable homes are available to local people in West Devon have been given the green light by borough councillors. The innovative proposals could see developers having to guarantee that 50% of new housing developments are affordable homes for local people. In rural areas, the figure could increase to 80% on smaller sites in villages where an urgent need for affordable housing has been identified. The borough council recognises that without modest levels of new housing, many of West Devon?s villages will see declining populations, the loss of local facilities and rural employers will struggle to recruit new staff. The new policies are at the heart of a council strategy document for West Devon, which aims to guide future development in the area for the next 20 years. The council?s future planning and housing committee has now agreed the draft strategy, which will go out to the public later this month to gauge their views. The Affordable Rural Housing Commission last week published a report to the Government, highlighting the need for more homes to help families in rural areas. The commission argues that providing affordable housing is essential to sustaining rural communities and the Government has agreed to take rapid action to promote affordable homes. As one of the main priorities for the council, rural housing is recognised as a critical issue for West Devon, particularly as the borough is an area where the wages of households in housing need are low, yet house prices are well above the national average. The authority has invested more than £5-million in the last five years to deliver affordable homes in the borough and has attracted a further £7-million in grants from the Government. The council is on target to deliver 625 new affordable homes over a five-year period from April 2004 to March 2009.
