Homes are needed but where should they go ?

Virtually everybody agrees we need more houses. They are vital for the success of the local economy and good for the community as a whole because they will provide homes for working people and be somewhere to live for those who don’t have one.

Bath and North East Somerset Council is currently putting the finishing touches to something called the Local Plan, a vital document, which will set out where they think houses and employment space should go in the coming years. They have to consider substantial, nationally set targets, which may or may not be practically unachievable, but whether they hit them or not, they will need to identify development sites and put lines on maps.

After approval by Councillors the plan will go out to public consultation … and I predict that’s when the trouble will start, as many of those who broadly accept the principal of more housing will kick off if it’s suggested it might be built near them, no matter how well thought out the plans are. They will happily agree that the ratio of housing costs to incomes is eye watering and that the number of people without homes or living in unsuitable accommodation is shocking. But pick virtually any space in the district and you’ll find a protest group set up before you can say “Not in our backyard.”

The bind that elected members find themselves in is that even though they might personally see the sense in building more houses, they know for a certainty there are no votes in taking such a stand if there is a proposal in their ward – and you know about Turkeys and Christmas.

How different might things be if the people who would love to live in those new homes had a chance to vote and so wipe out the democratic deficit ? A while ago I heard Wayne Hemmingway, the former fashion designer turned housing campaigner, speaking at an event in Bath, suggesting more should be done to give those people a voice. That would certainly be a step in the right direction, but it wouldn’t give them a vote and a proper say in the debate. Likewise, business people understand the problems of attracting and retaining staff in areas with high housing costs. But companies don’t have a vote either.

So, what’s the answer ? How do we square the legitimate right of those who have a vote with the needs of people and businesses who don’t ? I guess we just need to rely on our elected representatives to have the courage of their convictions and do the right thing and hang the consequences the next time their voters go to the ballot box.