Thousands struggle to find homes in Shropshire
Shropshire is in the grip of a housing crisis with homelessness soaring and 10 times more people waiting for homes than there were a decade ago.
A shock new report, published today, suggests that people across Shropshire and the borough of Telford & Wrekin are struggling to find a home they can afford due to a massive shortage of new housing.
The National Housing Federation's findings indicate social housing waiting lists in Telford & Wrekin rose 942 per cent from 1,686 households in 2001 to 17,569 in 2011.
In Shropshire waiting lists have grown 164 per cent over the same period, reaching 10,798 households in 2011.
Homelessness climbed in Shropshire by 29 per cent between 2009 and 2011, with 276 homeless households last year, while Telford & Wrekin saw a 14 per cent de-crease over the same period to 137.
Tougher
The federation said its new report Home Truths: West Midlands 2012, found while about 17,000 new households were created in the region in 2011/12, only 8,640 new homes were built.
The report's authors say the situation is pushing up house prices and private rents.
The report shows the average house price in Telford & Wrekin last year was £152,874, but in Shropshire it was £203,887.
Gemma Duggan, West Midlands lead manager for the federation, said: "We now face the very real possibility that an entire generation will be priced out of being able to rent a home, let alone able to buy one."
She added the federation has launched a campaign – Yes to Homes – calling on the government and local councils to work with the housing industry to tackle the crisis.
Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "We are no longer a social housing landlord." Shropshire Council was unavailable for a comment.
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