HewelsField and Brockweir Parish Council

Hewelsfield & Brockweir Parish Housing Needs Survey

Survey Report January 2010

Martin Hutchings

Rural Housing Enabler

Gloucestershire Rural Community Council

Community House, 15 College Green, Gloucester, GL1 2LZ,

Tel: 01452 528491 Fax 01452 528493

Email: martinh@grcc.org.uk

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Parish Summary
3. Aim
4. Survey distribution and response
5. Key findings
Part 1 – You and your household
Part 2 – Housing needs
6. Affordability
7. Existing Affordable Housing Stock
8. Forest of Dean District Local Plan – Housing land
9. Summary
10. Conclusions
11. Recommendations

1. Introduction

1.1 At Hewelsfield & Brockweir Parish Council meeting on 20th October 2009 the Rural Housing Enabler (GRCC) and Forest of Dean District Council’s Housing Strategy and Enabling Officer presented a proposal to undertake a Housing Needs Survey of Hewelsfield and Brockweir Parish. Subsequently it was agreed the Rural Housing Enabler would carry out a local Housing Needs Survey in consultation with the Parish Council.

1.2 The Rural Housing Enabler (RHE):

is employed by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council, which is part of the national network of Rural Community Councils (ACRE - Action with Communities in Rural England).
works closely with rural communities, housing associations, local authorities, other community organisations (including community land trusts) and landowners to meet the affordable housing needs of rural communities.
is an independent advisor, although, the post is funded through contributions from Cotswold District Council, Forest of Dean District Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council and four housing associations.

2. Parish Summary

The parish of Hewelsfield and Brockweir is in Forest of Dean District ward of Hewelsfield and Woolaston.

The 2007 the mid-year parish estimate for Hewelsfield and Brockweir is 531 population, comprising 213 households (according to the District Council’s Council Tax records), this equates to an average 2.49 persons per household.

By road Hewelsfield and Brockweir is 7 miles from Chepstow, 10 miles from Monmouth and 6 miles from Coleford.
The nearest railway station on the national railway network is in Chepstow,
Hewelsfield has the following facilities: a church.
Brockweir has the following facilities: a community shop, village hall, public house.

3. Aim

3.1 The purpose of the survey is to investigate and establish the affordable housing needs of people who live in or have close ties to Hewelsfield and Brockweir. By comparing the established needs with the existing supply of affordable housing and the number of re-lets, we can estimate the number of dwellings, house types and tenure of new units required to meet the parish’s needs.
3.2 Housing needs can be defined as the need for a household to obtain housing which is suitable to meet their requirements in terms of:
House type and accessibility e.g. house, bungalow, flat etc

Size and number of rooms
Location e.g. in relation to employment, schools, family, shops and public services etc
Affordability
Tenure, including security

3.3 The aim of the survey is to provide an independent report of a robust nature based upon evidence from reliable sources. The report is designed to be used as evidence that may be used in support of a planning application for affordable housing.

4. Survey Distribution And Response

4.1 The Parish Council delivered the questionnaires by hand to all dwellings in the parish in November 2009.
4.2 Each household was provided with a pre-paid return envelope and anonymity was assured.
4.3 Householders were asked to return the complete and return questionnaires within two weeks of receipt.

A total of 213 questionnaires (not including questionnaires issued to former Hewelsfield & Brockweir residents who wish to return) were distributed.
Everyone was asked to complete Part 1 of the form.
If a household considered themselve in need, or likely to be in need of affordable housing within the next five years, they were invited to complete Part 2 of the form.
Households were asked to forward the questionnaire to anyone they knew of who had moved away from Hewelsfield and Brockweir but might wish to return to live.
There was a response rate of 42% with 90 replies received. These figures provide a high level of confidence in the reliability of the data, and compares favourably with other surveys of this type (e.g. Ebrington 40%; Norton 36%; Kempsford 22%).

5. Key Findings

Part One – You and your household

5.1 One of the respondents reported that their home in Hewelsfield and Brockweir was their second home.

5.2 Table A below indicates the length of time respondents have lived in Hewelsfield and Brockweir. It shows that half of respondents have lived in the parish for 20 years or more.

Table A

5.3 Question 2 asked people to describe their home in terms of house type. Table B below shows 79% of respondents live in a house, 18% live in a bungalow, and 3% live in a flat or other.

Table B

5.4 Table C below shows 80% of homes have three or more bedrooms. Only 2% of homes have 1 bedroom.

Table C

5.5 Question 4 asked how many people live in your home. Table D below shows 73% are one or two person households.

Table D

5.6 Table E below shows 90% of respondents in Hewelsfield and Brockweir are owner-occupiers, approximately one third of whom have a mortgage, and two thirds own their home outright.

Table E

5.7 7 respondents said their home had been adapted to increase physical accessibility.

5.8 10 respondents said a member of their family had moved away from home in the past 5 years due to difficulty finding an affordable home.

5.9 72% of respondents said they are in favour of a small development of affordable homes.

Part Two – Housing needs

5.10 12 households completed Part 2: Housing Needs of the survey questionnaire.

5.11 According to returns on income, six households are deemed as financially able to afford market housing to meet their needs. Therefore, the remaining 6 households in need of affordable housing are the focus of this report.

5.12 Not one household indicated they were on the District Council’s housing register (Gloucestershire Homeseeker).

3 households indicated a need to set up an independent home.
2 households indicated a need to be closer to carer/dependent.
1 household indicated a need for a more secure home.
1 household indicated a need for a change of tenancy from private rented to affordable rented.

5.13 Analysing the results of those in need of rented accommodation shows the following:

There are 3 single adults requiring rented accommodation
There is one couple requiring rented accommodation
There is one family requiring rented accommodation (1 x two bedroom)

5.14 The level of income given by respondents suggests that one of therespondents could afford intermediate housing i.e below market rented or shared ownership (part buy/part rent):

There is one single person requiring intermediate housing

6. Affordability

6.1 Affordability is a key factor for measuring a person’s need for affordable housing.

6.2 In simpistic terms the assessment of affordability requires household incomes and savings to be measured against prices of property of a suitable size, type and location, whether rented or home ownership. However, depending upon tenure there will be additional factors that will impact upon costs of acquiring the right to occupy the property.

6.3 For home ownership, these costs include: mortgage interest rates, mortgage indemnity premium. mortgage application fee, legal fees, stamp duty tax, legal fees and search fees etc.

6.4 For rented, these costs may include: rent deposit and rent paid in advance.

Home ownership

6.5 In order to investigate affordability, further research has been carried out on house prices in the area.

6.6 Using information gained from HM Land Registry it is possible to obtain the average property prices in Hewelsfield and Brockweir.

6.7 Only 4 houses in Hewelsfield and Brockweir have been sold between January 2006 and September 2009. Details of these are shown in Table G below.

Table G: Average Residential Property Prices in Hewelsfield and Brockweir during the period January 2006 to September 2009 (according to HM Land Registry)

House Type	Average Price £	Number of Sales
Detached	513,200	4
Semi-detached	-	nil
Terraced	-	nil
All	513,200	4

6.8 The number of house sales are for new and existing properties where the sale details registered with the Land Registry are for the postcodes defining the parish of Hewelsfield and Brockweir.

Figures were obtained from “www.rightmove.co.uk” with data supplied by HM Land Registry.
There are sometimes delays in registrations especially for new build properties and this may result in under counting of property sales.

6.9 Unfortunately, it is not possible to identify properties according to number of bedrooms.

6.10 Also, these figures represent the average price for total number of properties sold, and with a very low number of property sales, the average is inevitably skewed by properties with a particularly high or low selling price.

6.11 The lowest price recorded by HM Land Registry for a property sold in Hewelsfield and Brockweir from January 2006 to September 2009 is £340,000.

6.12 HM Land Registry tells us that the average price of residential properties sold in Gloucestershire is £168,528 in November 2009, a fall of 3.8% over the previous 12 months.

6.13 The latest figures show that throughout England and Wales the downward movement in house prices ceased in June 2009, after which there has been a month on month increase. July 2009 experienced the highest monthly rate increase of 2.1% since August 2002. House sales volumes in Gloucestershire have fallen significantly from 1,402 in August 2007 to a low of 352 in January 2009 and increasing to 733 in September 2009 (latest month for which figures are available).

6.14 According to evidence provided by HM Land Registry the recovery in the housing market in Gloucestershire is lagging behind the national trend in terms of both number of house sales and house prices. Example calculation for a mortgage

6.15 Typically, a household can obtain a mortgage of 3.5 times their gross annual income, and in today’s financial market would expect to pay a deposit of at least 20% towards the total purchase price.

6.16 To afford the lowest property price (£340,000) of a property in Hewelsfield and Brockweir a household would require at least £68,000 as a deposit, and their annual gross income for mortgage purposes would have to be at least £77,714.

6.17 At the time this report is published mortgage lenders currently offer standard variable annual rate interest rates from 4%. Applying a 4% interest rate to a mortgage of £272,000 this would equate to £1,451 per month for a repayment mortgage over a 25 year period.

Area	Average gross annual earnings for employees (£)	Average gross annual earnings for residents (£)
Cotswold	21,729	23,468
Forest of Dean	22,139	25,919
Gloucester	25,026	22,151
Stroud	23,091	28,879
Cheltenham	26,175	28,384
Tewkesbury	26,178	26,326
Gloucestershire	24,388	25,944
South West	23,135	23,307
Great Britain	26,164	26,221

Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earning 2008, Office of National Statistics

As shown by the above table, the average gross annual earnings of employees in the Forest of Dean District (£22,139) is significantly lower than the regional (£23,135) and the national average (£26,164). However, the average earnings of residents in the Forest of Dean District (£25,919) is higher than those of the South West (£23,307), similar to Gloucestershire (£25,944) and slightly lower than the national average (£26,221). This suggests that people commute into the district to work from surrounding areas with less expensive housing costs, such as Gloucester and Monmouth.

Considering the average prices of homes in Hewelsfield and Brockweir it is unlikely that a household would be able to purchase a property without a large deposit (by using savings or by releasing equity in an existing property) and/or a substantial income.
Many potential first time buyers struggle to meet the costs of buying their own home.
In some cases intermediate housing (shared ownership, low cost market housing and rented housing at prices betweeen rented social housing and market rented prices) would be a suitable option, whilst in other instances affordable rented accommodation would be appropriate.

Private rented

6.18 Information gained from ‘Rightmove.com’ tells us there has been residential property for rent has achieved the following rents in 2009:

One bedroom terraced house (Lydney)....................... £375 per calendar month
Two bedroom semi-detached house (Bream)........... £475 per calendar month
Three bedroom semi-detached house (Bream)….... £495 per calendar month

6.19 ‘Rightmove’ records no private rented property having been re-let in Hewelsfield and Brockweir in 2009. Hence the above reference to properties let in nearby villages.

6.20 It is usually accepted that a household’s housing costs should not exceed 25% of a household’s gross income. Based upon this assumption a minimum gross annual income required to afford the above properties would be £18,000 for a one bedroom house, £22,850 for a two bedroom semi-detached house and £23,760 for a three bedroom semi-detached house. Of course, this does not include running costs e.g. council tax, fuel bills etc.

6.21 By comparing the monthly costs of private rented property with home ownership, it is substantially less expensive to rent than to buy a similar starter home.

What is affordable rented housing?

6.22 The levels of rent that Registered Social Landlords are able to charge are restricted by Homes and Communities Agency (formed on 1st December 2008 from the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships). These rents are known as target rents and are subject to the national Housing Benefit scheme, which is calculated taking into account a household’s income, savings and other circumstances, may entitle a household to a financial contribution of a sum up to the entire rental charge.

7. Existing Affordable Housing Stock

7.1 Hewelsfield and St Briavels currently has a total of 22 affordable dwellings.

Tenure	1 bed flat	2 bed flat	1 bed bungalow	2 bed bungalow	2 bed house	3 bed house	4 bed house	Total
Rented	2	1	0	9	2	8	0	22
Shared ownership	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	2	1	0	9	2	8	0	22

7.2 Between April 2007 and March 2009 there were 7 re-let. These included:

2 x 2 bed flats;
2 x 2 bed bungalows;
2 x 3 bed houses;
1 x 2 bed house

This figure is a little higher than the national average. The national average length of residential occupancy is approximately 7 years, which would equate to 6.3 re-lets over a 24 month period.

8. Forest Of Dean District Local Plan

8.1 According to Forest of Dean District Local Plan Review adopted November 2005:

Brockweir, .the overall strategy for Brockweir is to maintain and enhance the attractive character of the built environment of the village and the landscaping setting of the Wye Valley AONB. The defined settlement boundary for Brockweir has been closely drawn in order to preserve its attractive and compact form. As a result there is likely to be little opportunity for new development. The only limited opportunities which may come forward in the village are likely to be in the form of re-devlopment. New housing development will be limited by policy (R) FH.5 to one or two dwellings only. Any development which does occur will be expected to conserve or enhance the Conservation Area.
Hewelsfield, consists of a small, loose accumulation of buildings, with no services and poor access. As a result it is not a suitable location for further residential development and will be regarded as forming part of the open countryside. No settlement boundary is defined. The Plan will continue to support the preservation and enhancement of the Conservation Area...together with the protection of the attractive lanscape in and surrounding Hewelsfield.

9. Summary

9.1 Part 2 of this survey is aimed at persons who are seeking affordable housing (rented or shared ownership), and cannot afford suitable housing in the open market.

9.2 The information gained from this survey is a key element of assessing local needs. Other useful sources of information available to us include Gloucestershire Homeseeker (Forest of Dean District Council’s Housing Register) and the advice from allocation staff who manage the register.

Those who have expressed a genuine need have been considered in the recommendations, rather than those with a wish to move but are considered to be able to afford appropriate market housing.
Housing development in Hewelsfield and Brockweir should take account of future anticipated housing need as well as the number of households in immediate need.
There is a shortage of affordable properties in Hewelsfield and Brockweir for rent and none available for shared ownership ownership that are suitable for single people, couples, and families. As this survey has shown 80% of properties in the parish have 3 or more bedrooms. The results of the survey indicate there is a high proportion of singles/couples looking for accommodation, with one family in need of a two bedroom accommodation.
Of those 12 respondents to the questionnaire who are in need to move to suitable accommodation, six households can afford open market, one can affordable shared ownership and five households can afford social rented. In the current financial market potential purchasers, particularly first time buyers, are experiencing difficulties obtaining a mortgage. The Bank of England Base Rate is at an all time low of 0.5%(last reviewed in January 2010) however, mortgage lenders usually require substantial deposits, sometimes 20% or more of the purchase price and sometimes charge arrangement/administrative fees.

10. Conclusion

10.1 This survey has determined that there are 6 households in affordable housing need with a local connection to Hewelsfield and Brockweir.

10.2 In addition to those local households in need, turnover of the existing social housing stock in the parish should also be taken into consideration in determining the number, type and tenure of affordable dwellings. It should be noted that preference is not awarded to local persons upon allocation of the existing affordable housing; these properties are allocated to persons with connections throughout Forest of Dean District.

10.3 It is unusual to provide specifically for all those households identified as being in need as households’ needs may change and other households may fall into need. Any new development should be of a number of dwellings that is in keeping with the rest of the village and will be subject to the usual planning constraints as regards design, materials, access etc.

11. Recommendations

It is recommended that:

Hewelsfield and Brockweir Parish Council publicises the results of the survey in the parish news letter and anyone who is in need is encouraged to apply on the District Council’s Housing Register.
The District Council is provided with the Housing Needs Survey report.
The Rural Housing Enabler accompanies representatives of the Parish Council in a walk-about of the village to identify potential rural exception sites for the provision of affordable housing. Sites identified are referred to the District Council for comments as to their suitability for the provision of affordable housing.