People who need an affordable home are urged to have their say

With 5,000 people on the housing list in Herefordshire, there is a pressing need for more affordable homes in the county. For local people on lower earnings, a house at the bottom end of the market would cost them 8.5 times their annual earnings.

Herefordshire Council is working with housing associations and social landlords to get the message out to people waiting for a decent and affordable home. They too can influence the important Shaping Our Place consultation, which sets the blueprint for planned development in Herefordshire up to 2026.

The Shaping Our Place consultation aims to help create more and better-paid jobs, as well as more decent and affordable homes. Launched by Herefordshire Council on 18 January, it is due to finish on 12 March and will affect everyone who lives and works in the county.

Although Herefordshire hits its targets for creating affordable housing, and has many new builds in the pipeline, the key will be to ensure that demand is met consistently and across the county, in every market town and village, as well as the city.

The county also needs more enterprises, offering high quality jobs. More space for employment land has to be found. Growth in the county will provide stronger markets for local firms to thrive and prosper - and safeguard local essential public services.

The strategy for the market towns is to further promote their roles as service and economic centres for their rural hinterlands but also improve links with Hereford. Several villages could see development designed to increase affordable housing and sustain essential services, including schools, and new shops, along with rural transport improvements.

The consultation documents and questionnaires can be obtained from Home Point and Herefordshire Housing, as well as from any of the council’s info centres across the county, or by accessing the council’s website www.herefordshire.gov.uk.