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Sunday 6 August 2017

"Exeter faces a predicament. The population is growing and the provision of new housing isn't keeping up."

Plymouth is going places - with 'West Devon':
Massive plan reveals how south and west Devon could be developed | Devon Live

And so is Exeter - together with East Devon:
Exeter and East Devon Growth Point

With lots and lots of jobs:
Exeter fourth best city in country for new jobs | Devon Live

Although there might be a problem to fill all those vacancies:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and low-skilled migrant workers: "There are parts of the country where unemployment is really, really low [such as Exeter]. Many of the young unemployed people are on the other side of the country and they are not going to come down to Exeter, and they don't."

And most of the 'new jobs' are in fact low paid:
Low wages are 'return to pre-industrial Britain', says Bank of England economist | Business | The Guardian

In which case, there will be a problem in housing all the new workers:

Exeter faces a predicament. The population is growing and the provision of new housing isn't keeping up. With the average age of an Exeter person being 38.1 years (compared to the South West average of 41.6 years of age), the population of Exeter is growing at an alarming rate.

Nationally, the proportion of 24 to 34 year olds who own their own home has dropped dramatically from 66.7 per cent in 1987 to 43.8 per cent in 2014. While 78.2 per cent of over 65s own their own home. Longer life expectancies mean houses remain in the same hands for longer.

The swift population growth over the last 30 years provides more competition for the young than for mature population.

It might surprise some people that 98 per cent of all the land in the UK is either industrial, commercial or agricultural, with only two per cent being used for housing which means one could propose expanding supply to meet an expanding population by building on green belt – that most politicians haven't got the stomach to tackle, especially in the Tory strongholds of the south of England, where the demand is the greatest.

People mention brownfield sites, but recent research suggests there aren't as many sites to build on, especially in Exeter, that could accommodate 8,000 properties in the next 20 years.

In the short to medium term, demand for a roof over one's head will continue to grow in Exeter, and the country as a whole. In the short term, the demand can only be met from the private rental sector – which is good news for homeowners and landlords alike as that keeps house prices higher.

In the long term though, local and national Government and the UK population as a whole need to realise these additional millions of people over the next 20 years need to live somewhere.

Only once this issue starts to get addressed in terms of extra properties being built in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way can we all help create a socially ecological prosperous future for everyone.


Here's how many people are expected to live in Exeter by 2036 | Devon Live
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