Prove the need

The nation is constantly fed with statistics purporting to prove that thousands of inhabitants are suffering from an acute housing shortage, which leads to more unfortunate families having to live in sub-standard homes.
By The Newsroom
Published 31st Jan 2014, 12:00 BST

The whole of present-day town planning seems to be designed around these figures.

The basis from which these figures are produced has never been publicly explained.

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The insatiable demand for increasing the built environment so often ignores the similar demand for agricultural land.

We import a very large part of our food, and so the retention or increase in its production in this country would appear to be of prime importance, particularly in the view of the current increase in the number of people needing to be fed.

What proof is there that the present practice of building only houses for sale has any benefit to offer to people on councils’ housing lists?

Are they likely to be able to afford to buy the commercially-available properties?

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If there really is a huge army of inhabitants who can’t afford to buy their own homes, the only possible solution could be the production solely of homes to let at affordable rents. Only local public authorities would be able to provide these homes in the way that former council-run estates throughout the country used to demonstrate.

But the provision must still apply that unsuitable sites must not be used.

These include land suitable for agriculture and horticulture as well as those which have present essential uses in the community.

W. F. Daggett

Barn Close

Littlehampton