It coincides with a letter to the Daily Post published today which read as follows:
Dear editor,
In spite your reports about Cymuned entering a new phase of campaigning it seems that they are not keeping pace with policy emerging from the Welsh Assembly Government. Some months back the Assembly announced that based on local evidence councils could identify sites for 100% affordable housing, and that other housing sites should incorporate a mix and balance of housing size and types to reflect the needs of local communities. The need for affordable housing is a legitimate planning consideration that can influence decisions on new development. This builds upon the long standing commitment for councils to allow rural exception sites to meet a community's needs for affordable housing. It would seem that rather than being a problem national policy now provides a framework that allows many of the things that Cymuned desire. It does not however allow discrimination in planning decisions on language grounds. We should all be pushing our local councils for more innovative action using these policies. I hope it is not too great a shock to Aran Jones if we find some common cause in seeking to increase the supply of affordable homes, but we all need to accept the need for more housebuilding if that objective is to be met. In Gwynedd for example we know that in recent years the Plaid Cymru lead council has now failed to spend over six million pounds allocated to it for affordable housing schemes. What a difference that money would have made to many communities in "Y Fro Gymraeg".
In spite your reports about Cymuned entering a new phase of campaigning it seems that they are not keeping pace with policy emerging from the Welsh Assembly Government. Some months back the Assembly announced that based on local evidence councils could identify sites for 100% affordable housing, and that other housing sites should incorporate a mix and balance of housing size and types to reflect the needs of local communities. The need for affordable housing is a legitimate planning consideration that can influence decisions on new development. This builds upon the long standing commitment for councils to allow rural exception sites to meet a community's needs for affordable housing. It would seem that rather than being a problem national policy now provides a framework that allows many of the things that Cymuned desire. It does not however allow discrimination in planning decisions on language grounds. We should all be pushing our local councils for more innovative action using these policies. I hope it is not too great a shock to Aran Jones if we find some common cause in seeking to increase the supply of affordable homes, but we all need to accept the need for more housebuilding if that objective is to be met. In Gwynedd for example we know that in recent years the Plaid Cymru lead council has now failed to spend over six million pounds allocated to it for affordable housing schemes. What a difference that money would have made to many communities in "Y Fro Gymraeg".
I just have a feling that housing has become a game of protest, and lacks enough bold actions using existing powers. I told Glyn Davies AM something similar on his blog on Jan 2nd (see comments).
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