''The Conservatives on the Ribble Valley Council will carry out a review of the Borough Development Plan and adopt the government's recommended formula for annual house building in the Ribble Valley which reduce the annual build by a third '' says Bridget Hilton, Chairman of Ribble Valley Borough Council Health and Housing Committee and council candidate in West Bradford and Grindleton.
''The advice we have received from council officials is by adopting the governments formula for house building we will reduce the annual build from 280 homes per year to about 200. This will enable us to catch up with the need for infrastructure and we will prioritise affordable homes for residents. These will includes homes to rent , bungalows for the retired and starter homes for those wishing to buy at a discount or shared ownership. We regard the building of bungalows as essential for an ageing population which enable elderly people to remain in their home village or town and families to take over the larger houses.
''Since 2013 RVBC has facilitated the construction of 465 affordable homes and we will continue to require developers to provide 30% of every development over 10 homes as affordable. Ribble Valley Council is working in Partnership with a number of housing associations to achieve these targets and have become a registered provider of social housing itself enabling the Borough to build 100 homes on its own initiative if required.This policy enables our young people from the Ribble Valley to settle and make their home in the community in which they grew up.''
''Since the introduction of the new planning policy framework five and half years ago, Ribble Valley Borough Council has seen more affordable homes to be built that any other authority in East Lancashire including larger Labour controlled authorities like Blackburn and Burnley, with much bigger populations.''
The figures are from ONS and are referenced at:
''Within the review of the Core Strategy we will consider a policy of building small affordable units in villages which will make the them more sustainable and preserve schools,village halls, GP services, pubs shops and post offices and those brought up in the rural area to settle in their home village.''
ONS Figures on Completions of Affordable Housing Since the Introduction of the NPPF
