States of Guernsey sets goal to build 300 new homes a year

Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez said there was an "urgent" need for new housing in Guernsey

A goal to build about 300 new homes a year for the next five years in Guernsey has been approved by politicians.

The new States Strategic Housing Indicator sets out how many properties are needed on the island.

It has been set at 1,565 new units of accommodation between 2023 and 2027.

The policy was put forward by the Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure.

'Falling short' warning

Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez, president of the committee, said there was an "urgent" need for new housing.

According to the proposals, 844 new homes would need to be built by the private sector, while 721 units of affordable housing were also needed.

Affordable homes would consist of 473 that were "social rental housing tenure" and 248 in "partial ownership housing", the committee said.

However, Deputy David Mahoney, housing lead for the Policy and Resources Committee, questioned the research behind the proposals.

He urged his colleagues to reject the indicator as he did not believe there had been sufficient consultation with builders.

Deputy Peter Roffey, president of the Employment and Social Security Committee, argued that the housing proposal was far better than previous ones.

He said the report showed the lack of suitable sized properties for families in the social housing sector.

However, he said he was concerned about how the new aim was going to be met in the timescale set.

"I think we are going to fall short of this target," he said.

Follow BBC Guernsey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].