Affordable Housing and Housing Survey

While there has been awareness in the village for some time that the prices of houses have escalated to levels that make it impossible for the children of village families to remain here  there is considerable concern from some about what this might mean for the village and its environment. The Parish Council would like to take this opportunity to explain the background and current situation on affordable housing. 

Bidwells, agents for the land that surrounds the village, approached the Parish Council in 2014 with a map indicating five plots outside the village envelope that could possibly be made available for affordable housing.The Parish Council, however, felt that this was a matter for the whole village to consider, not the Parish Council alone. Bidwells were accordingly invited to address a well-publicised Annual Parish Meeting in 2014 which, in comparison to the handful of residents who normally attend such meetings, attracted over 100 people.

At the meeting, the Parish Council, given that views were expressed for and against the suggestion of new affordable housing, decided there was a need to substantiate any such requirement. Consequently, the charity Cambridgeshire ACRE, (Action for Communities in Rural England), was invited to conduct a survey of opinion. This was paid for by the CHS Group, formerly Cambridge Housing Society, (Responsible for the ‘Squires Field’ development.)

Cambridgeshire ACRE then processed the results of the survey; these indicated a substantial majority in favour of limited affordable housing in the village. The results were published in the 2014 winter edition of ‘The Wilbrahams’ Warbler.

The next step will therefore be to discuss these findings at our next Annual Parish Meeting in April 2015. Prior to this meeting, the Parish Council will be meeting again with Cambridgeshire ACRE, Bidwells and CHS to discuss the viability of their suggested sites.

The Parish Council hopes this helps to explain the current position.  Please come and join us at the APM which is scheduled for 23rd April in the Memorial Hall.

You may also be interested to read District Councillor Robert Turner’s report on the Great Wilbraham Parish Council pages in which he points out how a recent change to the S106 agreement may have implications for the construction of affordable housing throughout the country.