Say yes to homes and no to NIMBYs (From Northwich Guardian)

Say yes to homes and no to NIMBYs

8:00am Thursday 1st November 2012 in News By Emma Rigby

MORE public support is needed for building new homes across Cheshire if we are to avoid private rents rising faster than house prices.

According to the National Housing Federation (NHF), years of not building enough homes have left millions of families struggling to pay for their homes.

And with private rents set to increase at a faster rate than house prices across the borough, there is a threat that a generation may be priced out of renting a home, let alone buying one.

Figures released by the NHF show that private rent is expected to increase by an average of £201 a month by 2020 in Cheshire West, and an average of £210 a month in Cheshire East.

According to the NHF, the only way to stop this is to build more homes.

Daniel Klemm, north west lead manager at NHF said: “For the first time, we now have the very real prospect that we have a generation that will be priced out of renting a home in Cheshire, let alone buying one.

“We’re calling on the Government and the whole housing industry to take a long-term, joined up approach to tackle the market difficulties.

“The Government must release publicly owned brownfield land to housing associations so they can build more houses,” said Daniel Klemm.

Using the Government’s own data, NHF have identified sites equivalent to three times the size of Blackpool that could be built on now.

“Public support for building more homes is also crucial.

“There are people out there in these communities who want new homes but they’re often overshadowed by the voices of those who don’t want them.

“We need to encourage their voices to be heard above those of the NIMBYs.

“We’re hoping that our new campaign, ‘Yes to Homes’, will encourage more people to speak up in support of more new homes.”

For more information about the ‘Yes to Homes’ campaign, visit yestohomes.co.uk.