CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?..

It was once said that there isn`t a housing crisis in this country - it`s just a rumour put about by people with nowhere to live.  Well, it seems that even here in the sylvan paradise of the Garden of England, with its quiet lanes, its rolling landscape and its reserved solitude there are indeed people with nowhere to live.  Quite a lot of them.

Recent figures show that, at the last count, there were over 1,000 `households` on the waiting list for a property in the area covered by the local housing authority.  Housing charity Shelter has called the figures "chilling" and calls for the government to increase the funding to provide new social housing and local campaigners have increased calls for more properties to be built as soon as possible.

The local housing authority says it works in close partnership with housing associations who supply affordable housing in the area to meet housing need and that its housing register is prioritised depending on that need.  The Director in charge of these things at the local authority said - and I quote - "The required affordable housing from any scheme is laid out in planning policy and where there are any issues with the viability of a development the council ensures that is clearly evidenced and weighed against the benefits of bringing a site forward with at least the provision of some affordable dwellings rather than allowing schemes to stall entirely."

I`m sure that explanation will come as a huge comfort to those `households` waiting patiently for somewhere to live.