Shropshire Sits on Government Cash as Young Families Struggle
Heather Kidd, Lib Dem Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen has slammed Shropshire Council for its tardiness in spending £2.8 million in new homes bonus allocated by the Government to Shropshire to build more affordable housing for local people.
Heather said “Only last week a study showed that young people buying for the first time in South Shropshire now have to borrow 13.5 times their income the same as in Sussex in the South east of England. Even in the rest of Shropshire it is 8 times their salaries. We are on par now with much of the south of England!”
“There is a major crisis in housing provision in Shropshire. Developers have slowed building properties and Housing Associations are struggling. Add to this the grim economic situation and first time buyers and people looking to rent are having a hard time.
“This cash is bonus money as a reward for building homes. It should help Councils boost the provision of affordable homes. The Council needs to act swiftly to come up with its strategy to use this money.”
“In truth the Government could also help a great deal by forcing banks to lend more easily especially to housing associations (where they often want to renegotiate all previous lending- upwards!) who are struggling to get the cash they need to finance new build from (often nationalised) banks.
“The situation is so grave now that even people on decent wages like nurses and policemen are finding it difficult to find new homes. When socially vital people such have these have problems then it is high time that the Council acted. We need the Council to decide how they are to use the money, look into providing mortgages for the young people of Shropshire who are frequently forced to give up the hunt, and to help local maximise the use of Government deposit funding for first time buyers.”