MP demands social housing to tackle high prices

A £71,011 income is needed to buy an average house in Westmorland and Furness, Experian data says

An MP has called for social housing powers to be given to councils over concerns some "house prices are 20 times the average income".

Westmorland and Furness Council said parts of South Cumbria and the Cumbrian Dales had some of the "least affordable" housing outside the South East of England.

MP Tim Farron asked the government to enforce "a specific and unappealable designation of social housing-only developments" that local councils could enforce.

Housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said he was "more than happy" to "discuss short-term lets as well as this issue".

Speaking in Parliament, the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Mr Farron said: "In the Lake District and the Dales of Cumbria, average house prices are around 20 times average household incomes.

"Will the minister try to tackle this issue by making sure that there is a specific and unappealable designation of social housing-only developments that national park authorities and local councils can enforce?"

The council's housing strategy said affordability was "exacerbated" by the low wage economy in the area, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

According to data from Experian, an income is required of £71,011 to purchase a property of average property value on the open market in Westmorland and Furness - however only 13% of households have an annual income of more than £70,000.

Rural exception sites

Westmorland and Furness is the fifth-worst area in England for empty properties, according to government data analysed by campaign group Action on Empty Homes.

The area has more than 3,500 empty properties, yet more than 8,000 people are on the council's housing waiting list.

In response to Mr Farron, the minister said: "We want to see far greater use of rural exception sites in particular.

"I am more than happy to sit down with the honourable gentleman, I think we have already planned to do so - to discuss short-term lets as well as this issue."

Rural exception sites are small sites located on the edge of rural settlements and are not allocated within local authorities' adopted development plans.

Planning permission would not normally be granted for residential development on these sites, but they are considered for the delivery of affordable housing.