MORE than 100 people attended a Malvern church to debate the ‘local housing misery’ in the town.
Audience members submitted a host of questions to the panel at the ‘Affordable Housing or Green Fields?’ event at Lansdowne Crescent Methodist Church on Saturday, March 14.
Barry Jones, debate organiser, said: “It was quite obvious from the debate there is a massive market failure in private housing development of good and really affordable homes.
“It seemed clear from the debate local authorities need to be allowed by central government to start building once again on a large scale to provide good affordable starter homes, small retirement homes and social housing if there is to be any chance at all of meeting the human need for good cheaper housing in this area and in other parts of the country.
“Private housing developers will not do the job properly if at all because their aim is profit in bigger properties.
“Unfortunately, I think there is an underlying generational problem, with many longer-living well-housed people treating their homes as banks and palaces in favourable settings and then acting to block affordable homes, particularly for the young and their families.
“The situation is rather grim for increasing numbers of people and with present government policies and local attitudes there seems to be little hope for real solutions in sight.”
