‘No genuinely affordable homes have been built in Pulborough for at least 10 years’

Young people are being forced out of Pulborough because they can’t afford to live there.
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That’s the view of a newly-formed group which is seeking support from Horsham District Council to provide affordable homes in the village.

The group - the Pulborough Community Land Trust - says that current house prices in the village now average more than £500,000.

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And, says the group, average local workers’ salaries are less than £25,000 a year.

Justin Harper-Ronald SUS-200308-160453001Justin Harper-Ronald SUS-200308-160453001
Justin Harper-Ronald SUS-200308-160453001

Justin Harper-Ronald, a Pulborough-based architect and founding member of the Pulborough Community Land Trust, said: “No genuinely affordable housing - housing that is within reach of residents or local workers on less than local average incomes of around £25,000 per year - has been built in Pulborough in the last 10 years.

“The moment it has building permission, local land is simply too expensive to build really affordable housing. In addition local planning policies encourage developers to build housing only affordable on much higher incomes, even if some are labelled ‘affordable’.

“It’s exactly to solve this problem that a group of Pulborough residents has established a Community Land Trust.

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“Our priority is to persuade Horsham District Council to support our applications for new affordable housing on what are called ‘rural exception sites’. These are openly encouraged under Government legislation precisely because they allow affordable housing to be built in rural areas like Pulborough.

“Pulborough is a wonderful place to live and work, but like so many villages our younger generation are forced to move away to find homes they can afford.

“The resulting drain of working age population is putting services such as healthcare, retail and maintenance under mounting pressure so the whole community loses.

“Only by safeguarding Pulborough as a living/working village with new affordable housing can we maintain vital community services for all age groups, and make sure our village continues to be a great place to live.”

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The land trust is now asking Pulborough residents to make their views known about the need for future planning policies to provide suitable community housing sites. See: WWW.SURVEYMONKEY.CO.UK/R/PCLTHOUSING