·
A CLT is needed to ensure that essential workers within
our community
(e.g. care workers) can afford to live within our community.
·
Only way in which we can ensure that truly affordable
rental
accommodation remains as rental property and is affordable.
o
Average house prices in the lower segment of the market
are around 11
times the average wage making them unaffordable for three
quarters of the
working population.
o
An
affordable rent
for someone earning less than the local median wage of £20
to £25kpa is
around £400pm for a single person, £600 pm for a couple -
minimum rents in
Pulborough are around £800pm and are rising faster than
inflation, whereas
the local median wage is on a long term falling trend.
·
Proportion of over 65’s in Pulborough likely to rise to
around 40%
over the next 10 years
o
an increasing proportion of these will be living in the
community,
rather than in residential homes
o
increase in life expectancy means that the very elderly
need twice as
long a period with some form of care assistance as was needed 7
years ago
o
need for care workers/cleaners etc in the community is
soon to be at a
level around 3 times greater than at the time of the 2011 census
o
overall population of Pulborough forecast to rise by
around 1000 (20%)
by 2031.
·
Other support workers (teaching assistants, nurses,
supermarket staff,
taxi services etc.) will also be needed, and will require
affordable housing.
·
Pulborough is not unique, most other rural communities
face exactly
the same challenges in the South of England.
·
Those communities that try to accommodate such people
are more likely
to get the staff required; those that do not, will face an
increasing shortage
of services.
·
Pulborough is the first community in the Horsham
District Council area
to form a CLT to try to meet this need.
·
The CLT needs help from the community in several ways:
o
We need land donated or made available at very low cost
to the CLT.
o
We need professional expertise the CLT can call on?
(Everything from
legal experience, administration skills to planning, designing
and building).
o
Above all we need enthusiastic support from members in
our community
to help us bring this about.