March 23: An affordable home is just a dream for many

AS election fever begins to take hold, I would like to draw readers’ attention to one matter that should be in the minds of politicians of all persuasion. Our region – like many other parts of the UK – is facing a mounting housing crisis. Thousands of new households are created each year but recent years have seen fewer than half of the homes we need being built. At this rate, by 2031, there could be a shortfall in our region of 200,000 homes.

The Yorkshire Post is to be commended for raising the housing issue in its regional manifesto, particularly the plight of many people in rural communities for whom an affordable home is a dream (The Yorkshire Post, March 17). As the largest developer of affordable homes in the region, Yorkshire Housing is calling on politicians of all parties to end the housing crisis in a generation.

The Homes for Britain campaign has brought together people who need homes with organisations representing every corner of the housing world including housing associations, the Home Builders’ Federation, the National Housing Building Council, the Royal Institute of British Architects and homeless charity Crisis to name a few who are united in the aim of pressing home this message.