Monmouthshire's lack of home building land a 'concern'

Caldicot is seventh in Zoopla's table of Welsh towns with the biggest property price rises

A shortage of land to build new homes in Wales' most expensive county for property has triggered concerns.

A report to Monmouthshire council said more locations were needed due to the "slower progression of housing sites".

As a result, Monmouthshire could review its Local Development Plan (LDP) early because less than half of the target amount of new homes have been built since 2014.

Estate agents said the promised Severn tolls abolition had increased demand.

The council is preparing an LDP review report, which it hopes will be ready in December - but it said the timetable could change. If backed, that would spark a draft LDP for consultation.

The four Monmouthshire towns of Abergavenny, Monmouth, Chepstow and Caldicot feature on property website Zoopla's top 10 Welsh towns with the biggest house price rises.

The average house price in the county is £280,000 - the highest of all Wales' 22 local authorities.

Estate agents in south Monmouthshire claim to be able to "sell a house within 24 hours" as demand is outweighing supply in an area becoming popular because of the south Wales railway line electrification and the proposed scrapping of the Severn tolls by the end of 2018.

Monmouthshire council set a target of building 488 homes a year when it adopted its LDP - the basis on which future development decisions are made - in February 2014.

But only 667 properties have been completed in the three years since.

In a report to the council, head of planning Mark Hand said the LDP's key housing policies were not being delivered and the lack of land supply for housing was a concern.

"The fundamental contributing factor to this shortfall is the slower than anticipated progression of allocated strategic housing sites," the report read.

"The slower than anticipated delivery rate does suggest that there is a need for additional site allocations."

Mr Hand's report was discussed by the council's economy and development committee on Thursday.

"Given the importance to the land supply issue an early review is considered necessary," he added.

The tolls will be abolished on the Severn bridges by the end of 2018

Neighbouring Newport has completed more than 900 houses a year in the past two years, but just 307 were built in Monmouthshire in 2016/17.

Estate agent Nathan Reeks, who runs businesses in Caldicot and Magor, said there were not enough houses on the market.

"Houses are flying out," he said. "If I put anything under £250,000 on the market in Caldicot it sells within a day or so - and likewise Magor and Undy."

Jason Cave, director of CHF estate agent in Magor, said housing stock in the area was at "an all time low".

"With a limited number of properties coming to market, this has created a bottleneck within the area with many vendors having found a buyer but unable to find their next move," he said.

"This is preventing many vendors from going to market as they are afraid they won't be able to find a property.

"Local purchasers, in particular first time buyers, are being priced out of the area because of the rising prices and out of area buyers."