Windsor General Election candidates on: Housing

It’s tough when you can’t afford to buy a home where you want to. With a rapidly growing population the availability of housing is a challenge Conservatives are working hard to address. Our manifesto pledge is to build a further 500,000 homes by the end of 2022. This includes social housing, to be sold privately at the end of fixed-terms, with an automatic right-to-buy for tenants and profits rolled back into the building programme.

But, let’s face it: Ascot is one of the most desirable places to live in the UK. It’s no wonder it has some of the highest property prices in the country and that should be taken as a compliment. I don’t believe that it’s right to simply squeeze thousands of new properties into the area in an insensitive way.

I want to continue to see sensitive small-scale developments in keeping with the local environment, preferably on brown field sites, so that Ascot remains a beautiful, sought-after location, which young people aspire to and work hard to afford.

Above all, we need a strong, stable and prosperous economy with manageable levels of immigration and population growth and that’s why I’m standing with Theresa May at this election.

Peter Shearman, Labour candidate

The cost of living is a huge issue in Ascot, and across the constituency. House prices rise, bills go up but wages and incomes fail to keep up. Only the Labour party is on the side of the many in Ascot, who feel the burden of a low-growth economy and a laissez-faire government happy to sit by while essential public services lurch from one funding crisis to the next. We have a lot to do to meet this cost-of-living challenge. We will support pensioners by keeping the triple lock, maintaining the winter fuel allowance and fairly funding social care. The Labour Party will build one million new homes in the UK across the next Parliament, including 500,000 genuinely affordable social and council housing. Current ‘affordable’ housing in Ascot is often no such thing. We will also take back control of energy, water, rail and mail, reducing household bills and living expenses in Ascot. We will introduce a £10 minimum wage, a National Education Service in support of lifelong learning and skills, and end exploitative employment practices by banning zero-hours contracts. Only the Labour Party will stand for the many, not the few, on June 8.

Julian Tisi, Liberal Democrat candidate

Demand has outstripped supply of housing in Britain for too long and it isn’t improving. Nationally, the Liberal Democrats have targeted 300,000 new homes a year – almost double the current level. These must be sustainably planned to ensure that excessive pressure is not placed on existing infrastructure.

In Ascot, the problem is acute. But it’s not just about building houses, it’s about having affordable homes and the right schools, community facilities and transport in place to accommodate the people living in them. There needs to be proper consultation with local people on how this is to be best done, with local open days and a reasonable period for residents to respond – unfortunately this is not how our Conservative Borough approached things.

Nationally, we would: - End the Voluntary Right to Buy pilots that sell off Housing Association homes; - Scrap exemptions on smaller developments from their obligation to provide affordable homes; - Create a Community Right of Appeal where planning decisions go against the local plan; - Allow local authorities to double council tax on second homes and “buy to leave” investments; - Penalise excessing land-banking.

Fintan McKeown, Green Party candidate

The acute shortage of affordable housing in Windsor and Ascot is forcing many who grew up here to leave the area.

One solution to this problem could be for the local council to offer up underused land for modular construction.

Benefits to off-site modular construction include speed of delivery, improved health and safety, reduced waste up to 70 per cent and minimised disruption, among others.

A modular building can be delivered within 12 weeks of placing an order and usually takes one - two weeks to erect. Running costs for heat, light and ventilation are extremely low and these homes allow you to add another storey within 24 hours when your family expands and buyers so far have added office space, playrooms, gyms and guest space to their homes. Rather than buying a granny flat or property for grown children, a self-contained whole house with bathroom and kitchen starts from around £30,000.

Modular builds are being touted as the newest solution to Britain’s housing shortage due to their sustainability and affordability. They can be used in education, public sector, health and commercial as well as housing.