Swindon Housing Crisis: Shelter Research

Shelter’s findings reveal the shocking truth about the housing situation in Swindon. Only 1 in 4 houses are affordable for families, and for single people only 8 out of every 100 homes are affordable.

The total of new homes completed in Swindon has halved from over 1,000 in the last year of the Labour Government to just over 500 last year (see Swindon table in Shelter’s Report). No wonder young people in Swindon despair of owning a home of their own. 

Responding to new research from Shelter which reveals the extent of Swindon’s housing shortage, Anne Snelgrove, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for South Swindon said:

“Shelter’s findings reveal the shocking truth about the housing situation in Swindon. Only 1 in 4 houses are affordable for families, and for single people only 8 out of every 100 homes are affordable.

“The total of new homes completed in Swindon has halved from over 1,000 in the last year of the Labour Government to just over 500 last year (see Swindon table in Shelter’s Report). No wonder young people in Swindon despair of owning a home of their own.

“Shelter’s research shows that rent in Swindon for private houses has risen by £316 on average due to the shortage of supply, making it even harder for young people to save for their own home. Unfortunately this Government’s Help to Buy scheme does not address the right question, as Shelter conclude in their research.

“If Ministers are serious about helping first time buyers they should bring forward investment to build more affordable homes. Under this Prime Minister house building has slumped to its lowest level since the 1920s. Unless the Government wakes up and acts now to build more homes which people can actually afford, he risks making it even harder for first time buyers to get on the housing ladder.

“In addition, we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis so more and more of young people’s hard earned money is going on rents, energy bills and food. Unless George Osborne acts now to build more affordable homes, as we have urged, then soaring prices risk making it even harder for first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder. You can't tackle the cost of living crisis without building more homes.”