We all know how much house prices have skyrocketed. Where the average UK home was around three times the average salary in 1983, it is now eight-and-a-half times.
This is pricing out not only a generation of young people from homeownership, but also a significant and growing number of older people who are living in insecure and sometimes substandard private rented accommodation.
The Matthew Smith Almshouses charity provides secure and affordable housing in Belper to people over the age of 50. Almshouses – the earliest form of social housing – are self-sufficient and low-cost community homes which belong to a charity.
I met with them to hear about their plan to supply more almshouses on a brownfield site right in the heart of Belper. It is a fantastic idea which has been well thought through. I will be supporting their efforts to find partners, such as Amber Valley Borough Council and EMCCA, who could help them make the most of this project.