Holiday hotspot's chronic lack of affordable homes

The pandemic generated a rise in demand for short-term holiday lets, council documents said

A "chronic lack" of affordable homes coupled with house prices being more than seven times higher than the average family income need to be addressed "urgently".

Westmorland and Furness Council is due to discuss the issue at a meeting of its communities and environment scrutiny committee next week.

The council said south Cumbria "urgently" needed more affordable homes.

It added social rented housing accounted for less than 11% of all properties within the council area - far below the national average of 16.5%.

This figure falls to under 10% in some areas including the Bowness and Lyth ward.

Westmorland and Furness has some of the "least affordable housing" outside the south-east of Engand reports the Local Democracy Reporting service, with average property prices being seven times higher than the average household income.

Rising homelessness

A council report said potential approaches to tackling the challenges included securing 1,500 affordable homes through section 106 agreements over the next five years - an obligation placed on developers by councils when approving new homes.

The report said the pandemic had generated a rise in demand for staycations and short-term holiday lets.

This, coupled with the cost-of-living crisis, was also contributing to a "growing" homeless problem in the area.

Council documents said "proactive measures" to support people, bringing together homelessness prevention and support services across the area were potential solutions to be considered.