Exmoor House, Dulverton, Somerset. TA22 9HL Telephone: 01398 322249/45 Fax: 01398 323150 E-mail: [email protected] HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY TTAAWWSSTTOOCCKK NNoorrtthh DDeevvoonn 2010 Page | 1 [2] The Rural Housing Project has been running since 2002 and is a partnership between Exmoor National Park Authority, North Devon Council, West Somerset Council, English Rural Housing Association, Falcon Rural Housing, Hastoe South West, Devon & Cornwall Housing Association, North Devon Homes Ltd and Magna West Somerset Housing Association. It has been working hard to address the shortage of affordable housing within a predominantly rural area. The area covered by the project displays an extreme disparity between incomes and house prices, which makes it hard for many to gain secure footing within the housing market. The Rural Housing Project is designed to help promote and deliver affordable rural housing strategically across the project area and helps deliver Exmoor National Park housing policies within the Park. This is being achieved by informing people about affordable rural housing, providing help and advice, carrying out research at a parish level to assess the affordable housing need and bringing together the community and various partners to help deliver housing where it is needed. One of the tasks for the project is to work with the Parish Council and the local community to assist them in carrying out a housing needs survey, in order to identify whether there is a need for affordable housing for local people in the parish. Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 Local Amenities .......................................................................................................... 3 The Survey ................................................................................................................. 4 Tenure ........................................................................................................................ 5 Age Range ................................................................................................................. 6 Perception of Housing Need ...................................................................................... 7 PART TWO ................................................................................................................ 8 Local Connection ....................................................................................................... 8 Income and Savings ................................................................................................... 8 Identifying Housing Need ........................................................................................... 9 Rural Housing Enabler’s Comments and Recommendations ................................... 10 Respondents’ Comments ......................................................................................... 11 Site Suggestions ...................................................................................................... 13 Appendix A : Letter from Parish Council to accompany survey .................. 15 Appendix B : Letter from Rural Housing Enabler ........................................... 16 Appendix C : Information Sheet accompanying Survey Form ..................... 17 Appendix D : Housing Needs Survey Form .............................................................. 19 [3] TAWSTOCK PARISH HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY Introduction Tawstock is a parish in North Devon, south of Barnstaple. Tawstock parish includes the hamlets of Lake, Eastacombe, Chapelton, Harracott, Uppacott, Pristacott, Hiscott, Bridgetown, Ensis and St John’s Chapel. Local Amenities Shops: There is a local butcher at Bishop’s Tawton, small supermarkets and other shops at Newport, a large supermarket at Roundswell, and main shops at Barnstaple. Health: Doctors, dentists, vets and hospital at Barnstaple Transport: Buses: Service No. 664, once a week only, on Fridays. Nearest train station is Barnstaple. Schools: Bishop’s Tawton Pre-school 0.4 miles East Holywell C of E Primary School, Tawstock Bishop’s Tawton Primary School 0.4 mi N.E. The Park Community School, Barnstaple 1.3 mi North Library: Main library at Barnstaple Mobile library visits Tawstock fortnightly on a Tuesday. Pubs: The nearest pubs are at Bishop’s Tawton, less than half a mile away. Main industry and employment is at Barnstaple (4 miles), main employers being local government, North Devon District Hospital, a large pharmaceutical company and the Royal Marines base at Chivenor. Property Prices1 Average House Prices in Tawstock Average Rental Prices in Tawstock Beds Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Beds Dec 2010 Jan 2011 2 £194,000 £195,000 1 £460 £448 3 £278,000 £278,000 2 £555 £555 4 £394,000 £395,000 3 £662 £664 4 £864 £881 1 Data source: www.nestoria.co.uk [4] Council Tax levels for Tawstock compared with the English average, 2010/11:- £2,535.82 H £2,685.34 £2,113.18 G £2,237.78 £1,831.43 F £1,939.41 £1,549.67 E £1,641.04 £1,267.91 D £1,342.67 English Average £1,127.03 Tawstock C £1,193.48 £986.15 B £1,044.30 £845.27 A £895.11 The Survey Following discussions with Tawstock Parish Council, and with its agreement, housing needs survey forms were sent to 322 dwellings in Rural Tawstock Parish2, along with covering letters from the Chairman of the Parish Council and the Rural Housing Enabler (copies of letters and form are appended to this report). A total of 78 forms were sent back, representing a return of 24.2%. Of these 78 returns, 4 households completed Part Two, indicating that they are in need of affordable housing in the parish. These are dealt with in detail later in the report. The following data relates to all the forms returned, whether or not the respondents completed Part Two. Please note that where government statistics are quoted, they refer to the whole of Tawstock civil parish whereas the survey, as mentioned above, was sent only to the council-recognised rural section of the parish. 2 Addresses provided by North Devon Council, all sent out to “The Occupier” [5] Tenure Most of those responding to our survey were home owners, as follows: 8 Home owner 10% Renting privately 70 90% Government statistics on households in Tawstock Parish3 show a similar picture: 1% Households with owner-occupied 7% tenure Households with tenure rented from Council / Housing Association / Registered Social Landlord Households with tenure rented from private landlord or letting agency 92% The high number of private rental/tied housing may mean there is a hidden level of housing need, as private renting is an insecure form of tenure. Two properties in rural Tawstock were reported as being a second or holiday home; the Office for National Statistics states that there are 18 in the whole Tawstock parish. 3 Office for National Statistics, Census 2001, updated April 2004 [6] Age Range Age ranges within households in Tawstock were as follows: 59 60 50 40 35 29 male 30 23 22 21 female total 20 10 2 0 0-4 5-15 16-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75+ Government statistics for the parish show similar proportions, except in numbers of children and young people:- 800 734 700 600 500 377 400 293 300 232 228 200 146 83 100 0 0-4 5-15 16-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75 and over Tawstock appears to have a higher proportion of people in the middle age group than the national average, and fewer young adults and children, as shown in the following chart using figures, again, from the Office for National Statistics (Census): Tawstock North Devon South-West England [7] Perception of Housing Need Respondents felt that those in greatest need of new homes in the parish were as follows: 26 26 16 5 3 2 1 1 When asked if need were to be proven, would they be in favour of a small number of new homes to help meet the housing needs of local people, the majority said yes, they would be in favour. 10 13% 15 Yes 19% 53 68% No Don't know Comments and points of view expressed at this point are set out on pages 11-13. [8] PART TWO Four Part Two sections were returned indicating a need for affordable housing in Tawstock Parish. Local Connection Any affordable homes delivered in Tawstock parish would be for people living or working in the parish, or an adjoining one, or for those who can show that they have a long-term connection with the area. These categories are defined in the North Devon Council Local Plan. The respondents ticked the boxes as follows: Have you lived in the Tawstock Parish or an adjoining North Devon parish for 5 years 2 continuously in the last 10? Have you worked in Tawstock Parish or an adjoining North Devon parish continuously for the 0 last five years? Are you currently employed in an agricultural related activity, the emergency services, as a professional health/care/social worker or as a qualified school teacher and working within the 1 parish and/or providing an important service and need to live closer to the local community? Have you moved away but have strong established and continuous links with the locality by 1 reason of birth or family and still have a parent living there? Income and Savings Those claiming to be in housing need stated that their annual household incomes fell into the following ranges: a. Less than £15,000 pa. 1 (with £1,000 savings) b. £15,000- £18,000 pa. 0 c. £18,000- £25,000 pa. 1 (no savings) d. £25,000- £35,000 pa. 2 (1 with no savings, 1 with £20,000) e. £35,000 - £45,000 pa. 0 f. Over £45,000 pa. 0 An online mortgage calculator shows that a household