On Tuesday I challenged the continuing decline in provision of new affordable housing in Wiltshire. Figures released at the meeting show that in the last year there were just 532 new affordable homes provided against a target of 650. Previous years has seen just 571 and 583 homes delivered against the same target of 650.
I was told at the meeting that the issue of higher inflation over the past couple of years and Covid before that were contributory factors in the failure to deliver adequate homes, but also reassured that this reduction in new builds would be reversed as the economy improves.
I was also told that we should not look at years individually but instead as part of the 18-to-20-year plan that led to the 650 target figure. Unfortunately, when I asked for details of how we were performing against this lower term plan nobody could tell me and I will have to wait for a written response. Time will tell!
I was also told that the decline in delivery was also due to developers not building as many homes as they had planned. I subsequently asked how many reductions there had been over the past two years in the affordable homes requirement awarded to developers as they pleaded poverty and affordability concerns on developments.
While all of this goes on, our waiting lists remain at almost 4,000 . It’s good news that this number is not growing but still concerning that our need today remains the same as it was two years ago.
