25
Jul
Government 'must act' on rural recommendations
The government should take on board the recommendations made in a
recent report into housing affordability in rural areas and not
forget them, it has been suggested.
According to the National Housing Federation (NHF), the publication
by Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor is vital because it
highlights how these issues can be tackled.
Chief executive at the NHF David Orr suggested that villages will
"die" unless greater planning is initiated in such areas.
"The report must not be allowed to gather dust on ministerial
shelves. Its recommendations must be rolled out as quickly as
possible," he commented.
Local planners must be allowed to work alongside communities to
pinpoint adequate spots for housing, the federation added, while
local authorities have to analyse whether proposed sites will be
sustainable.
This week, the government-commissioned document observed that
locals in the countryside cannot get on the housing ladder because
they are being priced out of the market.