Winchester University can offer places to as many young people as they wish- but don’t have to plan where they will be living it seems.
In a recent statement, the University says that it guarantees lodging for those who confirm their place in May- but then they take many more through clearing in August- and these aren’t guaranteed a place to sleep or study.

Local estate agents report that the rental rates for flats and housing has risen- and this isn’t the first year it has happened- in previous years, hotel accommodation was the only option.
It’s not a good start for students- and not good for the community in Winchester.
Liberal Democrats want to work with the University on licensed accommodation, with enough student accommodation to cover those who are offered a place to study here.

The pressure on housing, particularly in the more expensive areas like Winchester, is huge. The list of local people awaiting council type housing is growing as the rents in private rented accommodation rockets. The Conservative plans to allow more properties to be sold off threatens this group too.Two newspaper articles highlight the isues-and a possible solution?

Concern over Right-to-Buy plans
Shelter has warned that under the Government’s Right-to-Buy plans, local authorities could be forced to sell 113,000 council homes. Under one aspect of the plans councils will be forced sell homes worth more than a set threshold once they become vacant. The trigger threshold varies according to region, but starts as low as £80,000 for a one-bedroom property in the North-east of England and climbs to £1,205,000 for a five-bedroom home in London, with Shelter warning that even at the higher level Kensington and Chelsea Council would be forced to sell more than 6,600 homes once they become vacant, almost its entire remaining council house stock. “The Government needs to scrap this proposal and start helping the millions of ordinary families struggling with sky-high housing costs. If George Osborne is serious about turning around the housing crisis, the autumn spending review is his last chance to invest in genuinely affordable homes,” Campbell Robb, the housing charity’s chief executive, comments.
The Independent, Page: 14 Daily Mirror, Page: 4, 8

Council turns landlord
Barking and Dagenham Council has bought 100% of a private development from construction company Bouygues and will release 144 new homes on to the market with a view to renting them out to private tenants at below the market rate. The local authority is the first in the UK to undertake such an initiative to combat housing shortage. “It’s a win-win for our council, taxpayers, residents and Generation Rent”, said Councillor Saima Ashraf of the plan.
The Guardian (Web)

and more troubles with the supply of rented homes….

Homes sold through Right-to-Buy “nowhere near” being replaced
Official figures reveal that councils in England sold 2,779 homes through Right-to-Buy in the quarter between April and June. However, only 307 were started or bought as replacements. Councils in the capital sold 962 homes and started or bought 24. Over the last year to June 12,235 homes were sold and 1,842 started to replace them. Gavin Smart, the deputy chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said the Government was “nowhere near” replacing homes sold off: “We understand the Government’s aim to encourage people to become home owners, but we’re very concerned about the loss of social rented homes at a time when more and more people are in need of affordable housing,” he said.
The Independent (Web): The Guardian (Web)

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