People with a personal connection to Gittisham in East Devon are being invited to provide their views on affordable housing for the village.
A housing need survey has gone out to all parish residents, but the group behind the survey says people from outside the parish can contribute as well by downloading the survey or contacting Devon Communities Together.
Housing need surveys are undertaken in communities to establish the level and nature of current and future housing need.
Gittisham Parish Council, in conjunction with East Devon District Council, has commissioned Devon Communities Together to carry out an independent survey of all homes in the parish.
Councillor David Valentine (Gittisham Vale ward), said it was crucial that as many people as possible fill in the survey and return it by 10th June.
“In our parish plan we asked residents if they would support small-scale development in Gittisham village, and the answer was a definite yes,” said Cllr Valentine. “Respondents felt that there should be more affordable housing for local people and more housing available for rent, while retaining what keeps this community special. But if people want that to become reality, filling in this survey is the first step in that process because then we can assess how many people could benefit from affordable housing. If there are people who’ve moved away from the parish because of the lack of affordable housing, we would really like to hear from them.”
Paper copies of the forms have been sent to every household in the parish and the survey will be open from now until 10th June. People can also download the survey online to complete by hand at https://www.devoncommunities.org.uk/housing-need-surveys or contact Janice Alexander at Devon Communities Together who will send them a form.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information, contact Cllr David Valentine on 01404 851322.