Affordable Housing (Devon and Cornwall) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Simon Jupp
Main Page: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)Department Debates - View all Simon Jupp's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing (Devon and Cornwall)
Simon Jupp Excerpts(2 years, 7 months ago)
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Selaine Saxby
As always, my right hon. and learned Friend and neighbour makes an excellent point. There is so much that needs to be done in Devon and Cornwall.
Building on the point I was making about the availability of property, today Ilfracombe has just one private rental and over 300 holiday lets. Apparently there has been a 67% reduction in rented housing between 2019 and August 2021, making North Devon the worst affected area in the south-west and the fourth worst nationally. Despite an improvement in the management of the list, the council reports a 32% increase in applications, with local affordable housing providers advising that there has been an increase of four to five times in the number of applicants for each new affordable rental property. From the data available, our district council reports that we have lost 467 houses from the permanent occupied market to second homes and short-term holiday lets, at a time when the rate of new developments has dropped right off due to the pandemic.
Simon Jupp (East Devon) (Con)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to consider a bold policy intervention to tackle the impact of second home ownership? One such policy could be to allow councils to reserve a percentage of new builds for people with a local family or economic connection to an area.
Selaine Saxby
I agree with my hon. Friend. In my constituency many of these homes are reserved for local people, and I will explain some of the further issues later in my speech. I know that the Secretary of State has conceded that we have not built enough affordable homes, and he is right.