The Figures Don’t Stack Up

Kent County Council population growth figures for Shepway will rise by 8.3% (Figures below are taken from KCC Area Figures)

	Total	0-15	16-64	65+
2011	108,200	19,200	66,300	22,700
2016	110,700	18,700	65,400	26,600
2021	113,700	19,200	65,200	29,300
2026	115,500	18,800	64,200	32,600
2031	117,200	18,200	62,300	36,600

Shepway District Council (SDC) are saying we need to build 20,000 new homes by 2031. This means we’ll have a 41.4% increase in houses, but not enough people to fill them.

We need homes and the protesters at yesterday demonstration (Dec 3rd 2016) are not saying we don’t need new homes.  All they are saying are SDC’s figures do not stack up.

House prices have risen five times more than average wages in the last five years, making it impossible for many people to buy their own homes.

Housebuilding firms are able to charge substantial mark-ups on homes they sell – in some cases making an average profit of £127,000 per house, analysis has found. Now housing experts are ­questioning why builders need subsidies when the the likes of Taylor Wimpey (Shorncliffe Garrison) profits grew by 71% in 2015

Shepway has the 5th-lowest-resident-earnings (see page 3) in the whole of the South East. So how are locals meant to buy these houses? Are they houses SDC are proposing for locals?  Oh and don’t forget we live in area where water is scarcer per person than it is per person in Morocco or Egypt and there be deserts

SDC CEO Alistair Stewart, Cllr Monk, Carey, Hollingsbee and our MP Damian Collins obviously do not understand the facts and figures. But where there’s muck there’s brass.

Now Cllr Monk has already said in an interview with The Looker ‘you have to listen to people’s views and have the arguments prepared’ So the question is are the arguments prepared before he listens, because if so, then it isn’t worth listening is it, because your mind is already made up. Cllr Monk goes onto say (about Otterpool Park) ‘We had no plans for the site other than a tenanted farming operation to earn some income.’ But Dr Susan Priest, SDC Corporate Director expenses show that SDC were exploring the idea of a Garden Town back in 2015.

If we look at Taylor Wimpey’s (TW) site at Shroncliffe Garrison we can see that TW managed to eradicate 144 affordable homes. Will the same be true for other sites? Remember there are companies such as  s106 Management Ltd who can produce a financial viability report that reduces, or eliminates developers affordable housing obligations. Will SDC bind future developers to build in 30% affordable homes?

Regardless of where you look across our district whether it be Princes Parade, the Lorry Park, Otterpool Park or any other developments, the figures just don’t stack up.

It’s clear Cllr David Drury Monk had his arguments prepared long before he decided to listen to the people of Shepway. Do you trust him or any of his other fellow Conservative Cllrs with regards to development? We leave you to ponder that.

Shepwayvox