East Devon Alliance has submitted excellent evidence to a House of Lords inquiry on affordable housing and to other housing inquiries. Here is the summary but the full report is well worth reading.

Has EDDC submitted evidence? Not that we are aware.

SUMMARY:

“The NPPF [National Planning Policy Framework] inflated housing forecasts and other government policies have resulted in an oversupply of high-end homes and a lack of genuinely affordable housing.

East Devon is one of the least affordable areas in the country with average house prices almost 12 times average income. It is an attractive region for retirement. Demand for houses outstrips supply and the affluent can always outbid the locally employed.

EDDC has already granted permission, or received planning applications, for 80% of its 18-year 17,100 high growth scenario housing target. Evidence given at the public examination of the Local Plan shows that slow build-out rates of new houses are due to developers reacting to “market saturation”.

Rented accommodation is too expensive for the average renter, often in a poor state, and there are high eviction rates. Social housing rents are being cut by government, leading to “black holes” in local authority housing budgets. Councils and housing associations are being forced to sell houses on “right to buy” discounts, leaving insufficient funds to build replacements.

The East Devon Alliance has made several submissions to organisations who are reviewing the state of the housing sector, and these are shown below.”

http://www.eastdevonalliance.org.uk/district-issues/housing/