ASHFIELD: More affordable homes will be built to tackle housing crisis

Ashfield councillors have passed plans to tackle the district’s housing crisis by building more council and affordable homes.

At a district council meeting on 10th October, Chris Baron, the leader of the council, said something needed to be done to ensure more than 4,000 people on Ashfield’s waiting list were able to get on the housing ladder.

He said: “We are not building enough council and affordable homes.

“The average price in the Ashfield area is now £110,000 with the average earnings now £21,070.

“As with most businesses when there is a shortage - just like the Sony play station at Christmas - as the demand goes up so does the price.”

Councillors passed plans to build more affordable and council housing voting 24 for, nine against and three abstaining.

Lachlan Morrison, coun for Hucknall central, said: “Housing is a funny thing. If you ask people if they want housing, they say no but if you say do they want housing for their children to grow up in, they say yes.”

A rise in house prices has meant home ownership is beyond the reach of many residents in Ashfield and the size of a mortgage deposit alone stops many would-be first time buyers from getting on the housing ladder.

The gross annual income needed for a mortgage is £23,500, not including the deposit, nearly £2,500 above the average earnings in the area.