Housing shortage looming in village

Rising house prices an indication of high demand, says report

THERE will soon be a shortage of housing in Woolton Hill, a new report has claimed.

Architects Pro Vision surveyed 41 households in the village and identified that residents in 13 of them have lived there for more than 20 years.

It found that only five households surveyed had lived in Woolton Hill for less than five years.

Based on the findings, Pro Vision compiled a report claiming that there would be “an unmet housing need in Woolton Hill in the near future”.

The report said that there was “a lack of mobility within the area with few residents leaving and few new residents moving into the village, a clear indicator of a lack of housing supply”.

Using census data and information from the Office of National Statistics, the report stated: “East Woodhay’s population could grow to 3,189, an increase of 269 residents by 2024.

“The most recent national household projections predict an additional 210,000 households [across the borough] per year between 2014 and 2039… and, based on this figure, approximately 155 additional households in the parish of East Woodhay.”

Although there have been plans for 52 new dwellings approved in Woolton Hill since 2013, Pro Vision said that these dwellings could not “meet in full the future housing needs of the village”.

The size of an average household was also addressed by the report, which said that household sizes were “smaller than in the past and these smaller households occupy larger homes than their needs require.

“This is evident in the parish, as the most common household sizes are two to four people and the area is characterised by large four, five+ bedroom dwellings.

“This further indicates a need for houses.”

Using market indicators, the report said that house prices in Woolton Hill had risen by 45 per cent since 2009.

Pro Vision said this was “an indication of the high demand and lack of supply”.

A survey carried out by Pro Vision with local estate agents showed a disparity between the number of houses on the market and the number of people looking for a house in the area.

Savills Newbury have had one Woolton Hill house for sale in the past 12 months, but reportedly seven potential buyers wanting to buy in the village.

Rightmove have nine properties for sale in the area – five are five-bedroom houses, two are four-bedroom houses and one is a three-bedroom home.

This led Pro Vision to conclude that there was “a distinct lack of smaller dwellings on the market in Woolton Hill”.

The report was produced as part of a planning re-submission for the construction of two semi-detached homes on land near Yew Tree Cottage on Mount Road, Highclere.