The National Housing Federation report predicts:
. The number of over 65s living in rural England will rise by 39% in the period 2008-2020 to 3.2m
. 24% of rural dwellers will be over 65 in 2020 (nearer 30% in the South Shropshire Area.)
. 32% 0f them will live alone (24% at present.)
. We will also need to build 100,000 affordable homes across England by 2020 to ensure that there will be sufficient homes for younger people of ‘modest income’ both to provide services for the ageing population and keep schools, shops etc viable.
Heather intends to press Shropshire Council to start planning for this demographic change now. Heather concluded “We have made a good start here in Shropshire with our affordable housing scheme but any new Government may pull the rug on affordable house building and this will hit our population hard and could destroy our construction skill base.”