A new website has been launched to support the development of much needed affordable housing for local people in Devon.
Devon Community Housing Hub has been developed collaboratively through a partnership of Devon Local Authorities, charities, Housing Associations, National Parks and Housing Professionals. It also has the support of Central Government agencies (Homes England) and other South West enablers of affordable housing.
The site offers a wealth of information on different types of housing development, with a particular focus on addressing how to best help communities to identify their housing needs and work together to address them, through the development of community-led housing. Visitors can also access expert local services, for example in Housing Needs Surveys, Neighbourhood Planning and funding advice.
House prices are rising by as much as £144 per day in Torridge1, with other parts of Devon not far behind. Holiday lets can also have an impact, with figures2 published in November 2021 showing AirBnB offering 253 rentals in Exmouth compared with just four residential lettings. In Ilfracombe the figures are 326 compared to four. The issues have been debated in Parliament, and can be viewed here: https://ukparliament.shorthandstories.com/cet-housingdc/
“Many communities in Devon will have experienced the effects of low levels of affordable local housing, with people being forced to move away from the areas they know in order to find a suitable home,” said Nora Corkery, Chief Executive of Devon Communities Together, an independent charity that has led the development of the Housing Hub as part of the Partnership. “Our mission is to support our rural communities to be inclusive and thrive, and part of this involves being able to keep different generations of people together with adequate levels of housing stock for local people. Very often, that need from within a community is best served by that very community coming together and making its own case for new housing. Devon Community Housing Hub is an exciting new resource that pools a host of expertise and services into one space that anybody can use; from initial research into the topic of community-led housing, right through to getting new homes built.”
The team behind the Hub work with a number of different clients, from parish and town councils to housing associations, local authorities, community land trusts, self-build and co-housing groups, landowners and private developers, with a specific emphasis on working with, not for, the communities.
Westward Housing Development Manager Samantha Novak, Co-Chair of the Partnership, added: “It’s great to be a part of the DCHH, it’s such a vital part of delivering affordable housing across Devon.”
For more information, visit www.devonhousinghub.org.uk or call 01392 248919.