Delivering affordable homes is a priority

After eight years serving the wonderful Cox Green community – where I was born and raised – I am looking forward to spending more of my time with my fiancée (and our lovely new puppy), seeing my family more, learning to garden and continuing community work.

As I get set to wave farewell to the good ship RBWM, I wanted to reflect on a key challenge we face. While times are hard and the cost of living is biting, RBWM is blessed to be one of the best places to live in the country.

The future is also looking bright with major town centre regeneration taking place in Maidenhead, a new Windsor Vision to guide future investment and the ongoing Ascot rejuvenation. This would not have been possible without the relentless positivity and hopefulness of the good folk of RBWM.

Naturally, this makes RBWM an attractive place to move to and build a life in.

However, to ensure existing local residents benefit from the managed expansion of RBWM’s housing supply under the Local Plan, we need a clear plan for ensuring new affordable housing goes to local residents.

When RBWM adopted the Local Plan and Housing Strategy, we locked in the delivery of thousands of new affordable homes with a specific focus on socially-rented homes.

With the Local Plan now adopted, we expect to see almost 2,000 new affordable homes built over next four years – that will ensure that more born-and-raised local residents can stay in their local community.

We do not want a borough where young people are forced to leave and our communities crack under the everincreasing costs of housing.

Indeed, recent population data showed number of residents aged 20-40 shrunk by ~5 per cent in RBWM, while 45+ increased ~18 per cent.

If this trend continues, our communities will lose more young people to neighbouring towns and big cities.

Housing costs are so acutely high in RBWM that it suggests a localised issue of historic under-delivery of new homes, which has resulted in prices vastly outstripping wages. By delivering new socially-rented homes, as well as homes for market sale, we can help keep our communities together. Local Conservatives have committed to introducing a new Local Lettings Policy that will give local residents in need of affordable housing and living around new development sites first priority.

This new policy was not supported by our opposition colleagues; this is unsurprising given the local Lib Dem housing spokesman voted against new social housing again and again; while the ragtag bunch of independents often just rock up to meetings to oppose things.

Conversely, your local Conservatives

believe genuinely local people should have first priority for new affordable homes.

Housing is a complicated topic, but on the specific issue of delivering homes for future generations of RBWM residents and those in need in our communities, only your local Conservatives have a clear plan to deliver managed growth of new homes through an adopted Local Plan; passion to enable more local young people to live locally; and clear policies to ensure local residents living around developments have first priority on new affordable homes.

ROSS McWILLIAMS Outgoing Conservative councillor for Cox Green