Affordable Housing
HOW PLAID CYMRU WOULD HELP YOUNG FAMILIES TO FIND A HOME OF THEIR OWN
Caernarfon couple Iwan and Danielle and their 11-month old daughter Eliya are living with Iwan’s parents, but are trying to buy their own home. They’ve seen several suitable properties but can’t raise enough money for the deposit. They recently put in a bid for a house but were ‘gazumped’ by people who could offer a higher price.
PLAID PLEDGE: UP TO £5000 TO HELP FIRST TIME BUYERS
With income levels among the lowest in Britain and the rise in house prices among the highest, Arfon has many people in the same situation. That’s why a Plaid Cymru government would give a grant of up to £5,000, on a £ for £ match-funding basis, to help first-time buyers raise a maximum deposit of £10,000.
Danielle added: “Unlike some people, we’re very lucky to have a decent place to live, but it’s not the same as having our own home. This grant would help us get on to the property ladder.”
Iwan said: “Had this scheme been in existence earlier we’d be settled in our own home by now.”
Alun Ffred said:
The average property in Wales costs more than five times the average annual salary. So the number of young people able to buy their own home has fallen by 20% in the last year.
Plaid is determined to help people like Danielle and Iwan. A Plaid-led government can achieve this and provide new hope for our nation - not in the long distant future but soon after the May elections.
HOUSING CRISIS: ALUN FFRED OFFERS NEW IDEAS
Alun Ffred Jones and Plaid Cymru are putting forward new ideas to tackle the housing crisis, which is worse in Arfon than in most parts of Wales. During his period as a councillor and as the respected Assembly Member for Caernarfon, Alun Ffred has taken a special interest in housing issues.
He believes that the planning regulations should be made far more flexible, to meet local needs.
This would include
- Changing the rules to help local people build houses for reasonable prices in rural areas
- Insisting on planning permission for turning local houses into holiday homes.
Alun Ffred said:
People have been talking about these matters for years but we’ve seen very little action. Plaid Cymru is determined to take decisive steps to safeguard the future of our communities. This is an area where Labour policies have been disastrous, and where a Plaid-led government can make a real difference.
Labour is spending less on housing today than 10 years ago. No wonder rented flats and houses are in short supply. And people in Arfon are feeling the pinch.
LABOUR’S TORY POLICY MEANS NO PLACE TO RENT
David and his partner Jane and their 7 month old daughter live in a tiny one bedroom flat in Bangor and are desperate to find somewhere bigger. But very few properties for rent are being built. Government laws mean that families like them, who are not officially homeless, have too few points to get a home.
Or take Peter. He is divorced and lives with his 12 year old son in his parents’ council house. He sees little hope of getting a place of his own.
Many of these problems are caused by Labour’s decision to continue the Tory policy of selling council houses. Whereas this policy has benefited individual families by giving them the opportunity to own their property, the money raised has not been used to replace the houses sold. So the stock of rented accommodation gets smaller year by year.
Plaid Cymru would stop the sale of council houses in areas where there is a shortage until a programme of building new houses and flats for rent is in place.
KEEPING WARM
Arfon has some of the oldest and coldest houses in Wales. More than half our houses have no central heating - the highest figure in Wales. But the money to renovate old houses has been declining every year under Labour.
Plaid believes that we must have a national scheme to make our houses warmer, save energy, save on heating bills - and help save the planet.
This would include
- Offering advice on saving energy and running a campaign to promote the idea
- Bringing back decent grants for house improvements that conform to an energy-saving strategy.
This would benefit our own health and comfort today, and make the world a safer place for future generations.
NEW LABOUR PRIORITIES
Spending on public housing in Wales
1999-2000 - £446.6 million
2004-05 - £354 million
Estimated cost of replacing Trident - £25-£40 billion
DON’T MISS THE TRAIN—SEND OUR STRONGEST TEAM TO CARDIFF!
If you like Plaid Cymru’s policies on housing and other issues, you can help us to implement them by voting Plaid twice in the Assembly elections in May. By voting for Alun Ffred Jones in the constituency vote, and for Plaid Cymru on the second ballot paper, you will be helping to send political stalwart Dafydd Wigley back to the Assembly as a regional list member. We hardly need to stress the benefit that this would bring to the political welfare of Arfon and North Wales in general.
You will also be helping Plaid Cymru to form a vibrant Government to replace the tired Labour regime.