STROUD district’s councillors have weighed in on new government plans to fast-track home building, diversify the type of homes available and allow more young people to get on to the housing ladder.

Released on Tuesday, February 2, the Housing White Paper contains aims to help over 200,000 people become homeowners by the end of the current parliament in 2020.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid says the current system isn’t working and is one of the greatest barriers to progress in Britain today.

District Cllr Debbie Young (Con, Chalford), said: “It is important that new houses are in the right place for people to live, work and build communities.

“I have always said we need a mixture of housing for people's needs.

“It was particularly interesting that the prime minister in her forward talked about encouraging local authorities to build more, and through our local Conservative MP I would like to progress this as Stroud Conservatives started the new council house building scheme in Stroud.”

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced in the Autumn Statement last year an extra £1.4billion for the Affordable Homes Programme.

A Lifetime ISA will also be introduced in April to support younger adults to save for a deposit, which will give them a 25 per cent bonus on up to £4,000 of savings.

Labour leader for SDC Steve Lydon (The Stanleys) said: "We were hoping that the cap on money to build more Council houses would be raised or abolished. It’s strange we can borrow money to build swimming pools but not for much needed homes.

"In Stroud it’s becoming more and more difficult to access the private sector for those on Housing Benefit, due to the widening gap between rent levels and the help level available to low income families from Housing Benefit.

"In Stroud the average house price is £266,033 and the average monthly rent for a private sector property is £722.

"You need to have a household income of £60,808 in Stroud for an 80 per cent mortgage."

Starter homes will be targeted at first-time buyers, aimed at those with a shared household income of less than £80,000.

Councils and developers will also be expected to use land more efficiently by avoiding building homes at low density and building higher where there is a shortage of land and in locations well served by public transport.

Liberal Democrat leader for SDC Ken Tucker (Wotton), said: "Developers must be made to build on stock-piled building land and not just sit on it as house prices soar throughout the country, making ‘affordable homes’ virtually, if not completely, unaffordable to most young people and families.

"We would like to see local authorities take over unused planning permissions and create new homes and bring regeneration to existing brownfield sites, like the Littlecombe development in Dursley.

"Many residents are rightfully concerned about ruining our countryside, so what we don’t want is the countryside, environment and Green Belt being threatened by poor quality and speculative development.

"If we can build good quality homes within the villages and towns that fit in with the local environment, meet identified needs and that are truly affordable, that would be better."

Every local area will be prompted to produce a realistic housing plan and review it at least every five years.

The government will also require greater transparency and information from developers on their pace of delivery of new housing so councils can consider this when planning their local need.

They will also be shortening the timescales to require developers to start building within 2 years.

However SDC chairman Norman Kay (Green, Nailsworth), said: "They just don't care, it is full of warm words but fails to give the money or the powers to make it work.

"This is another failed opportunity to help local councils provide good affordable rented accommodation and to make home ownership within reach ordinary families.

"We will continue to promote new forms of tenure and construction, but we could do so much more if government freed us given that our waiting list is too long for homes to rent both for older people, families and single vulnerable people."

The legislation also contains an aim to distribute more money to SME builders (small or medium-sized enterprise) and address the growing gap between the number of planning permissions granted and the number of new homes completed.