MORE than a third of new homes built in Castle Point must be affordable housing, because of a severe shortage in the borough.

Castle Point Council is having a public consultation on its Affordable Homes Strategy 2008-10 document, which reveals 35 per cent of all new housing developments must be made up of affordable homes.

This figure has almost doubled from the previous figure of 20 per cent because of the high number of residents who need affordable homes.

But with more than 1,400 people in the borough waiting for an affordable home, according to the council’s waiting list, the number has been bumped up.

Wendy Goodwin, the councillor responsible for housing, said something needed to be done to get people off the housing waiting list.

She added: “We have a lot of people so we need to find homes, because of the recession.

“Although we don’t have planning for any new developments yet, we are hoping a number of new sites will be built in the next year.”

Affordable homes are classed as all social housing provided by council and housing associations, as well as shared ownership housing, where owners pay a mortgage on some of the property and rent the rest.

The number of affordable homes that must be provided in new developments varies between councils depending on need and can be as high as 50 per cent.

Dave Blackwell, leader of the Canvey Island Independent Party, fears the high requirement for affordable homes could put off developers.

He said: “Developers know if they build an estate with 35 per cent social housing they are going to have trouble shifting the other homes, so they don’t want to build.”

“The council is stuck because it can’t afford to build the homes, the housing market is still going through a rocky patch and there is no new building on Canvey at the moment because of the flood risk.”

To comment on the council’s Affordable Homes Strategy, go to its website at www.castlepoint. gov.uk and follow the links.