by René Lavanchy
HOUSING associations have come under fire this week for calling on the Government to provide more money and legislation to address the chronic housing shortage in the countryside.
Nearly 700,000 people in rural areas are on a waiting list for an affordable home built by a private not-for-profit housing association, according to a new report by the National Housing Federation and Campaign to Protect Rural England.
It also found that the average cost of a rural home is £231,000 – 13 times the average rural salary.
But Alan Walter, chair of Defend Council Housing, accused housing associations of trying to “screw the public purse” and said the shortage was their fault for not providing cheap rented accommodation.
David Orr, NHF chief executive, said: “Without urgent action by ministers many of our villages are in danger of becoming the preserve of the rich and weekend playgrounds for second home owners”.
The Government has increased its target of affordable new rural homes to 10,300 over the next three years. But the report says over 14,000 people on average have been joining the waiting list every month. It calls for more public investment and more concentration on rural areas.
Mr Walter responded: “The argument [for housing associations was, for every pound of public subsidy they could borrow a pound privately. What they’re saying is, ‘we can’t borrow, so we want two quid from the public’… They want to screw the public purse.”
