Cheaper homes at top of the list

PLANS for affordable housing are back on the agenda in Cheddar following months of delays. The scheme was put on hold when parish and district councillor Jeff Savage became ill. Now recovered, he says he wants to push forward affordable housing proposals in the village.A survey in 2005 carried out by the Community Council for Somerset indicated there were 85 households in Cheddar in need of affordable housing, although the figure could now be a lot higher. Cllr Savage said: "I am keen to push forward with plans to build affordable homes in the village. "I am not sure if we missed the deadline for any budgets or what funding will now be available but I am very eager to get the ball rolling again and will be speaking to housing officials this week."Affordable housing benefits people in communities who would be unable to purchase a home on the housing market. It is designed to help young families, first-time buyers or people with low incomes and is arranged by a number of organisations, including councils. Cllr Savage said: "I was disappointed to discover that the Cheddar project had lost momentum. We need to make sure we supply as many affordable houses as possible without the project becoming detrimental to the village. "I admit myself that when I first heard about the project I was very concerned as there were rumours it would be cheap council houses overcrowding the village. A lot of people still believe this to be true and we need to overcome this misconception."In August 2006 more than 20 locations were chosen as potential sites to build affordable homes, but when Cllr Savage became ill towards the end of the year, the scheme was put on hold. Meetings will now be held between Cllr Savage and Sedgemoor's strategic planning officer, Duncan Harvey, to push ahead with the plans for Cheddar.