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Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Cllr Samuel wrong - affordable housing IS high priority
June 10, 2011 11:10 AM
• CLLR Geoffrey Samuel was wrong to say that residents rated affordable housing as a "very low priority" in the Council's All in One Survey, when referring to the proposed Twickenham Station redevelopment in the local press on 3rd June.
Unsurprisingly, families and young people are those most concerned about the affordability of local housing, but the All-in-One survey failed to reach out to these residents. Whilst 63 % of Richmond's residents are aged 45 or younger, this age group only makes up 32 % of the survey respondents. Meanwhile, the over 55s are heavily over-represented by the survey, making up 50 % of respondents, despite representing just 23 % of residents. Despite this heavily skew in the data, the "affordability of local housing" still came sixth highest out of twenty-seven under "most needs improving" ahead of planning issues, litter, crime and anti-social behaviour and support for local businesses.
Cllr Stephen Knight, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said: "Cllr Samuel was quite wrong to say that affordable housing is a 'very low priority' for local people. In fact, despite the All-in-One survey being heavily skewed against the under 45s, who are most likely to be concerned about the affordability of local housing, this issue still came sixth highest out of twenty-seven under "most needs improving" ahead of planning issues, litter, crime and anti-social behaviour and support for local businesses. Presumably Cllr Samuel thinks these are even lower priorities?
"Cllr Samuel not only sought to use the survey to support his political position but got it completely wrong. The supply of affordable housing in London has fallen in recent years, despite the demand for such homes being higher than ever. The planning committee must ignore Cllr Samuel and give priority to all the council's planning policies when considering developments such as Twickenham station, including the requirement to provide affordable housing."
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