By Chris Story

Last updated at 10:33, Sunday, 03 March 2013

More than 220 affordable homes would need to be built every year if demand in Eden were to be met.

The figure has been flagged up as talks are held on where nearly 2,800 homes could be built in the district over the next four years.

Eden council is asking people their opinions while exploring how demand for new houses could be met.

It has a target new-build figure of 239 homes every year – a statistic officials say is based on “robust evidence” about population forecasts.

Malcolm Smith, the councillor responsible for planning, said: “These are not outdated figures.

“All the evidence confirms there is an underlying need to allow for significantly more houses to be built than we have in the past.

“Doing nothing will only make this current and future shortage of affordable housing even worse, and risks younger generations not being able to own their own home or having to move out of the district to buy their own home.”

Lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest issues facing Eden, where high property prices have made stepping on to the housing ladder impossible for many people.

A consultation on potential homes sites is being held until April 22. A number of public consultation events are taking place.

Mr Smith added: “A large percentage of the need we have in Eden is for new houses to accommodate people coming to live within the district from elsewhere, but this is not a new trend and often it is local people returning home after a working life elsewhere.

“We cannot stop this from happening, but the consequence of not meeting this demand is to force local people out of the property market, and we would be failing to deliver the affordable homes that we so badly need to provide, for local people in our towns and villages.”

Eden has identified 63 possible housing locations. Sixty per cent of the homes would be in Penrith, another 20 per cent would be spread in Kirkby Stephen, Appleby and Alston. The rest are earmarked for 46 villages in the district which have potential to support developments.

Eden’s population is expected to grow by 2,500 by 2025. There are currently more than 1,000 names on the council’s waiting list.

First published at 10:16, Sunday, 03 March 2013
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk