Black: Housing Report Marred By Pps14 Failure

North Antrim Assembly candidate and Moyle Councillor, Orla Black said the otherwise excellent Semple report on housing affordability is marred by a failure to appreciate the impact of the PPS14 rural housing ban on house prices and land supply.

She said: “John Semple has done a sound piece of work on the general issue of affordability. He is to be complimented for clearly identifying the need for a huge increase in social housing new-build, which is in fact the key to increasing the supply of affordable housing to those who would be able to purchase at sensible prices, however, when it comes to rural housing supply the report falls down badly. The clue is to be found on the single page of the 70-page report which mentions PPS14.

He writes: ‘Currently PPS14 is subject to judicial review but on the assumption that it is brought into force, which I hope will happen…’

“Sir John is entitled to his personal opinion on development in the countryside; however, I cannot see the relevance of stating his view – or mine for that matter – in such a report.  What is worse is the danger that this personal view may influence the outcome of his housing review. For example, he only deals with the consequences of PPS14 for social and affordable housing in settlements. There is not a mention of the reality that PPS14 has already sent site prices rocketing across the north and that large numbers of people in the countryside who could have looked after their own housing needs a year or so ago are now facing their own affordability crisis.

“Due to PPS14, affordability is no longer just an issue at the lower end of the market. It has massively disrupted the rural housing market and is already disrupting whole rural communities. If left unchallenged it will do more damage and the rural ethos of our communities will be lost. Rural schools and businesses may face closure due to a lack of numbers and business and young people will be forced to leave the area in which they have been brought up or wish to live. The policy ignores our centuries-old traditional pattern of rural settlement, and it must be scrapped. Then we must turn our hand to implementing the many good measures proposed by Semple to tackle the overall problem of housing affordability.