Affordable homes are pegged
I write in response to one of the points made by Roman Jones, Star Letters, October 2, concerning affordable housing.
Roman stated that the fundamental problem with "affordable housing" is that "once they are purchased by first-time buyers, they immediately enter the normal housing market pricing structure and become unaffordable".
This is simply not the case - at least not in South Shropshire. Every affordable home that is built in the district, whether for sale, for rent, under a joint ownership scheme, or as a self-build or conversion project, is permanently pegged to an affordable price, which is calculated as a multiple of the local wage.
Affordable homes in the South Shropshire district cannot be sold on the open market at open market prices - they will always be sold or rented at prices that are "pegged" to take account of the actual wages earned by the local people.
The number of new homes that can be built in the district is rationed by regional housing policy and despite our drive to make sure as many of the new homes built in South Shropshire are long-term affordable homes, we're still a long way short of the number of homes that local people need and can afford on local wages.
Heather Kidd, Leader South Shropshire District Council
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