30
Sep
Essex leads the way with raft of property developments
The National Housing Federation recently predicted from their own
data that the number of people living in homes that they actually
own themselves will plummet to 63.8 per cent in the next decade,
from a much higher peak of 72.5 per cent recorded ten years
ago.
The NHF, which represents housing associations, has gone on record
as saying that a lack of new homes being built in the UK is the
main reason for this decline as well as a lack of finance among
young property seekers. The lack of housing specifically is
predicted to see house prices rise by a massive 20 per cent over
the next five years.
Now it seems that Essex is doing what it can to help the struggling
first time buyer in terms of housing, mainly by building lots of
it. Developments are planned which could help struggling first-time
buyers who may find it hard to get their foot on the property
ladder. There are a number of new housing developments all
beginning to take off in the region
There are already detailed plans underway for the £1 billion
Basildon Masterplan which aims to completely regenerate vast areas
of the town and could see as many as 2,000 affordable homes go up.
Although there has been a certain level of controversy regarding
the council's plans to sell-off of playing fields for the housing
in an attempt to help fund the Basildon Sporting Village.
There are also plans further up the county in Colchester to build a
large amount of property. A planning application is being readied
in lieu of its submission next year, which could again see more
than 2,000 homes built, this time on 247 acres of land.
Speaking to the Colchester Daily Gazette, Barry Hayes, sales
manager at Essex estate agent Boydens, said that the housing market
had been relatively stable for the past 18 month and that now
plenty of new houses are becoming available to buy. This will
surely be boosted with this raft of new homes.
Mr Hayes said: "They are building a massive number of new homes in
this area. So when they are talking about the relationship between
the population and the number of homes built, they’re talking
more on a national basis.
"Mortgages are more readily available than they have been for
first-time buyers, and there are some good deals out there.
There’s also a steady supply of properties for sale and
they’re mainly houses, but flats are still difficult to
sell."
Local residents are being reassured that property developments will
bring positive aspects to the area including growth and are also
being urged to have their say on the developments.
In a statement from the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council,
cabinet member for planning and infrastructure councillor Rob
Golding said: "This is a real chance for local people to have their
say about what is right for their area. We must decide what is a
reasonable number of new homes and where they should go across the
borough. If we don’t, then we are leaving the decisions to
developers through ‘planning on appeal’.
"The message is don’t wait until new homes are proposed and
say they are in the wrong place – get involved in the debate
about how many homes are needed in your area and where they should
be built."
Essex seems to be determined to go against the national housing
statistics and provide opportunities for people to live there. Both
Essex authorities and house hunters will be hoping it works
out.
