Commons Sense

House of Commons · Adjournment Debate

Social Housing South Cotswolds 2025-10-21

21 October 2025 · 11 other contributors

Opened by Roz Savage LD South Cotswolds

Housing

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Roz Savage raised concerns about social housing south cotswolds 2025-10-21 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • Concerns raised about the lack of affordable and well-maintained social housing in the South Cotswolds, impacting over 3,600 households on the council's housing register.
  • Local parish surveys confirm a growing demand for affordable housing and downsizing options for older residents.
  • The Minister acknowledged the need for housing that reflects local realities and is supported by appropriate infrastructure.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Roz Savage LD South Cotswolds

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of social housing in the South Cotswolds, and I thank the Minister for being here this evening. Across our towns and villages, from Biddestone to Barnsley and Hullavington to Hillesley, the need for genuinely affordable, safe and well-maintained housing has never been greater, yet precisely when the need is most acute, the supply of such homes is being allowed to dwindle away. In Wiltshire today, more than 3,600 households wait on the council’s housing register. Local parish surveys tell the same story. Biddestone and Slaughterford parish council has undertaken two surveys in recent years, both confirming a clear and continuing demand for affordable housing. There is also a growing need among older residents for smaller, adapted homes so that they can downsize locally, yet in many villages that option simply does not exist. I am not advocating arbitrary housing targets; I am talking about ensuring that the right kind of homes are built—homes that local families, key workers and older residents can actually afford to live in and want to live in, and homes that have the infrastructure that they need. While the Government have set new national housing targets that will more than double the number of homes expected in areas such as the Cotswolds, those figures risk doing more harm than good if they ignore our local realities.

Other contributors (11)
  • Rachel Gilmour LD Tiverton and Minehead

    Does my hon. Friend agree that schemes such as the new social housing in Minehead—the first social housing for a generation—coupled with more social housing in Mid Devon specifically for elderly people to downsize from their own social housing are the way forward?

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    We had a debate in Westminster Hall this morning on homelessness, and one point that came through very clearly was affordability. House prices can sometimes be over 10 times the average of what people can afford from their earnings.

  • Matt Rodda Lab Reading Central

    Does she agree that there is a great deal of scope in many towns and even some larger villages for building on brownfield land? In Reading, there are a number of examples of this.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Con North Cotswolds

    The problem with increasing the housing numbers—doubling them from 500 to 1,000 a year—is that the planning system is not delivering us the number of affordable houses.

  • Martin Wrigley LD Newton Abbot

    I am proud to have been the leader of Teignbridge district council—which has built council houses for the first time in 30 years. There are a number of adjustments that can be made, including increasing the number of homes from 200 to 500 before needing a housing revenue account.

  • Matt Rodda Lab Reading West

    Does the hon. Lady have anything she wants to say about the value of good design principles and linking to the existing traditional architecture in specific communities?

  • Lee Dillon Lib Dem Newbury

    I support the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes, but I wonder whether you could give an indication from the Dispatch Box of how many will be for social rent.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

    In a recent hearing of the Public Accounts Committee on planning improvements, we heard that 34,000 social houses in England and Wales remain unsold. That seems to be an absolute tragedy when there is such demand for social housing.

  • Martin Wrigley

    The numbers have doubled in my district of Teignbridge; 40% of Teignbridge is within Dartmoor national park, the rest of the area is constrained by the coast. Because of that expense, fewer and fewer affordable homes will be delivered.

  • John Brown Con Eastbourne

    The hon. Member for Eastbourne agreed that affordable housing is crucial, adding his own constituency faces similar challenges due to rising land costs.

  • Mary White LD Hertfordshire

    The hon. Lady for Hertfordshire echoed the sentiment and highlighted the need for government support in areas like hers where environmental constraints increase construction costs.

Government Response

Government Minister

I congratulate the hon. Member for South Cotswolds on securing this important debate and I thank the other hon. Members who have made contributions today. The Government recognise the acute housing pressures facing rural communities, and are committed to ensuring that the homes built reflect genuine local need, are affordable and are supported by appropriate infrastructure. Local authorities must plan for the right number of homes, taking into account land availability, environmental constraints such as flood risk and protected landscapes. We set out in the national planning policy framework that local plans must deliver, where practicable, the amount, type and tenure of homes that communities actually need. The Government are committed to building 1.5 million homes during this Parliament, with social and affordable homes making up an essential part of that. We have sought to engage with the sector at every opportunity since coming to office, listening carefully to the views of social housing providers and their tenants on the problems they face and how best to resolve them. At the spending review, the Chancellor announced a record package of investment designed to ensure that councils and registered providers can increase development of social and affordable housing. I thank the hon. Member for Surrey for raising this important issue. We understand the scale of the challenge and have committed to delivering a new 10-year, £39 billion social and affordable homes programme aimed at delivering around 300,000 new homes, with at least 60% designated for social rent. This represents six times more than in recent decades. Our programme is flexible to cater not just large urban developments but also small-scale rural projects where environmental constraints exist. We are encouraging applicants to be ambitious and bold when submitting their bids, which will open early next year following the publication of our full prospectus. We pledge a renewed partnership with the housing sector to support building at scale and meet community needs for generations to come. In response to specific questions raised, we will provide detailed answers in writing.

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