Meeting people's need for housing

• Enable affordable homes to be built in the district each year in line with the Vale's ambitious targets
• Help people in housing need to resolve their housing problems

There are over 48,000 homes in the Vale and our housing stock is relatively modern and generally in good condition. Between April 2007 and March 2011, more than 1500 homes were built, of which 600 were affordable. Affordable housing includes both subsidised housing at an affordable rent and low cost home ownership, for example, shared ownership, that is available to people who cannot afford to occupy houses generally available on the local market.

However, with house prices nearly nine times higher than average incomes, many local people continue to find it difficult to buy their own home or rent from a private landlord. The problem is particularly acute in the smaller communities where house prices are very high and few properties are available to rent from housing associations. The high cost of houses in the area and the fact that relatively few new houses are being built in rural locations mean that local villagers have limited access to suitable housing. A key challenge for the future will be to secure the provision of affordable housing to meet needs in the Vale's rural communities.

The Council will facilitate the provision of affordable housing for people who live and work in the Vale. This will be done through the policies in the current Local Plan and in the new Local Development Framework, which will be agreed during 2009. The framework will include a target that 40 per cent of all new housing will be affordable.

The Council is committed to preventing homelessness in the district. Homeless acceptances have been reduced significantly over the last five years and, on average, over 200 households a year are prevented from becoming homeless. Our approach is prevention through early intervention using appropriate advice and a range of initiatives. We also intend to keep the number of households who are accommodated in nightly charge properties, for example in bed and breakfast, to a minimum.

The Council was the first in Oxfordshire to set up a Choice Based Lettings scheme for people on the housing waiting list. We are now working with other authorities to further increase housing mobility by setting up a scheme that enables Vale residents to apply for housing throughout Oxfordshire.