Shepway workers can expect to pay around 9.7 times annual earnings to purchase a home.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) median house prices in the postcode area for Princes Parade ranges between £378,250 and  £385,000. So most of the 150 homes which might be built on Princes Parade will be out of reach to a significant number of residents in the district. The Princes Parade postcode is for example CT21 6AE and if you type it into the map below, the median price will be given (no data is collected by the Shepwayvox Team)

Below is another interactive map (produced by ONS released on the 26th April 2018)  that shows housing affordability ratios over time for each local authority district in England and Wales. It shows that affordability has worsened everywhere since 1997 in England and Wales to some extent, but has worsened at different rates in different areas. Housing affordability has generally worsened at a quicker rate in local authority districts in the south of England than affordability in the north of England and in Wales. Housing affordability has worsened the most in London over the last two decades. This has been driven largely by increasing house prices. Out of the 10 least affordable local authorities in England and Wales, seven were in London, whilst the 10 most affordable local authorities were in the North West, the West Midlands and Wales.

In Jan 2018 Folkestone & Hythe District Council  in their Sustainability Appraisal Report Non Technical Report at page 16 bullet point 1.19 state:

Access to the local housing market in the District is an issue as the average house price is more than six times the average household income. 

However, the ONS data which runs up to Dec 31st 2017 makes it clear that Shepway full time workers can expect to pay around 9.7 times their annual workplace-based earnings on purchasing a home. This is a significant increase of 1.9% between 2015 and 2017.

So it would appear that the data put out by FHDC is misleading, to say the least, and based on outdated facts and evidence.

So there you have it people, evidence if evidence was needed that a vast majority of new build homes will be well out of the reach of many of the residents who live in the district.

The Shepwayvox Team Journalism for the People NOT the Powerful.