Valley may face major housing shortage
ROSSENDALE could see a housing shortage in just a few years if current home building rates continue.
The latest government figures show a net total of only 95 new homes were created in Rossendale in 2019/20 – including new builds, conversions and changes of use.
It means there were an estimated 32,256 homes in the area as of March 2020 – more than enough for the 31,057 households living there at the time, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
In fact, many of them are standing empty, with 1,169 vacant properties in Rossendale as of October 2019 – the latest figures available.
However, predictions on population growth by the ONS suggest Rossendale could see a shortage of housing by 2028 if home building is not ramped up.
The ONS estimate there will be 33,065 households in the area that year, with the increase driven both by “natural” factors – more births than deaths – and immigration from other parts of the UK and abroad.
Should the number of houses and flats continue to increase at the rate seen in the last year, by 2033 there will be 33,016 homes available in Rossendale – only slightly shy of the number needed.
However, the gap would then increase year on year as the population continues to grow, reaching a deficit of 1,606 homes by 2043.
These figures also assume that all the houses and flats currently sitting empty in Rossendale will be brought back into use.
Unless more vacant homes are occupied, it could mean the housing market will be even more squeezed by that time.
The area has seen more homes created in previous years, seeing an average of 194 net additions a year since 2001/02.
If that rate were to continue, the area would actually have an excess of 472 homes – although again that doesn’t take into account empty properties, which currently outstrip this .
Meanwhile, other areas in Lancashire look set to keep up with increasing demand for housing, if predictions on population growth from the ONS are correct. More households than homes will likely result in rocketing house prices and increasing rents, and lead to overcrowding, which will see some families struggle to move to a home of their own.