Building must be allowed in the countryside

Apr 1 2008 by Paddy Rooney, Western Mail

FOR all the credit squeeze gloom, there is no sign yet that house prices are falling off a cliff – in fact over the country as a whole they are continuing to rise, though more slowly than in recent years. Demand continues to outstrip supply, and the law of supply and demand rules.

Official estimates suggest that in Britain as a whole the housing stock needs to grow by about 1% annually to keep pace with demand, but this is not being achieved.

The Welsh situation mirrors the national picture: demand is growing, but completions during 2007 amounted to barely 0.6% of the existing stock.

The problem is particularly acute in rural Wales where average incomes tend to be low and prices high, thanks not least to demand from second-home buyers.

Too many young people – young families especially – are having to move away from their home area, and the situation is made worse by poor public transport and the progressive closure of schools, hospitals, post offices and other services.

The consequences for rural communities are potentially disastrous.

The logical approach to remedying the situation would be to introduce positive planning and development strategies, and build more houses, but this is not always welcomed or possible under current policy.

Affordable housing programmes are a sensible step, but other planning proposals may be frustrated by worthy but conflicting objectives – environmental, aesthetic, economic. And sometimes the problem can be what a commentator described as a Banana attitude (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone).

Aggressive taxation policies do not help, either. Although the proposed Planning Gain Supplement has been dropped, we are now faced by the prospect of a levy on developments in order to pay for associated infrastructure. In rural areas this is especially costly and could undermine the viability even of desirable projects such as affordable housing or small barn conversions.

People need to be able to live and work in the countryside if rural communities are to thrive, to be more than ghettos for the elderly, the rich and second-home-owners. If things are to improve, some of our attitudes and policies will have to change.