4. Local Issues

Local issues, which are considered to be the most significant and relevant to this policy, are as follows:

4.1  Stock Condition

The most recent Private Sector Stock Condition Survey reported in 2001, highlighted the fact that there are an estimated 1,741 properties in the district, which represents 5% of the private sector stock, that are unfit for human habitation.

In addition there are 15,605 (40%) properties that are borderline unfit, and will fall into unfitness if they do not receive focussed investment over the next 5 years.

Results from the survey also indicate that an investment of some £31 million is needed within the whole of the Housing Stock in the next 10 years to alleviate disrepair in the Borough and bring the unfit properties up to an acceptable standard with a 30year life span.

The rural areas of the county contain 22.4% of the unfit dwellings, in 46.5% of the housing stock.

98% of unfitness occurs in properties constructed before 1945 and it is recognised that as properties become older, maintenance costs rise and many owners have found it difficult to continue to carry out essential repairs.

11.95% of all unfit properties occur in the private rented sector, although this tenure only represents 16% of the total private housing stock.

4.2  Local Housing Market/Affordability

1. The latest Residential Property Report from the Land Registry provides data on average house prices for homes in Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough sold within the periodOctober - December 2002.

These are:

• Detached house £196,472
• Semi-detached house £108,452
• Terraced house £100,411
• Flat/maisonette £ 74,245

giving an overall average of £125,800 for all properties sold which is only marginally less than the national average price for the same period.

2. Rent Levels

   The following local rent levels are for the period December 2002 - February 2003 Median levels are quoted on a weekly basis

   In the private sector, median levels:

   a house with 1 bedroom = £54.00

   a house with 2 bedrooms = £73.00

   a house with 3 bedrooms = £87.00

   a house with 4 bedrooms = £92.00

   In the social sector, median levels:

   for a property with 1 bedroom = £40.00

   a property with 2 bedrooms = £45.00

   a property with 3 bedroom = £50.00

   There is no evidence that rent levels in Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough are significantly different from national levels.

   Average annual gross earnings in Shropshire were £20,384.00 in 2002 with 24.6% of working population earn less than £13,000 per annum (£250 per week).

   Therefore Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council continues to compare unfavourably with both the regional and national averages for earning levels, and for the number of employees on high wages.

3. Mortgages

The Housing Survey report of 2001 indicates that only 52.3% of owner-occupied properties are mortgaged in Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough, compared with a national figure of 76%. This may partly be due to a relatively higher number of older residents in the district who are more likely to own mortgage-free properties.

There is no data available on mortgage levels specific to Shrewsbury and Atcham but the following regional and national averages for 2002 may give some guidance.

Nationally - average loans for new mortgages in 2002 was:

First-time buyers = £87,000 representing 75% of the property value (£116,000)

and at 2.5 times the applicant’s salary (salary £34,800)

Locally -

Average salary £20,384.00

Average house price £125,800

6.2 times the applicants salary. The maximum recommended mortgage borrowing is 3 x salary (£61,152).

4.3  Demographic Profile

Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough have a population of 95,900 with 60% of these residing in Shrewsbury. 23% of the population are aged 60 or more, compared with 21% both regionally and nationally.

3% of the population are drawn from ethnic minority groups, compared to 8% regionally and 6% nationally.

2.4% of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough’s working-age population are unemployed, compared with 3.6% nationally.

4.4  Crime

In 2002 there were 9.45 domestic burgularies/1000 households recorded. In addition bogus callers is a problem with elderly householders being particularly vulnerable.

4.5  Deprivation

Deprivation figures and rankings are available for all Shrewsbury and Atcham Wards, and for all wards nationally. These are based on The Index of Multiple Deprivation, which is made up of 6 separate dimensions or domains. Each domain is made up of a number of indicators covering aspect of this deprivation as comprehensively as possible. The 6 domains are:

• Income
• Employment
• Health, deprivation and disability
• Education, skills and training
• Housing
• Geographic access to services

Of the 354 local authority districts in England, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough is ranked at 214 (where 1 is the most deprived) and also sits near the halfway mark on a regional basis. Concentrations of the most deprived areas of the County are within Shrewsbury and 3 of the wards of the town are within the most deprived 25% of wards in the country.

4.6  Poverty and fuel poverty

A recent report sponsored by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation "Poverty and home ownership in contemporary Britain" draws some relevant comparisons on the inequalities in the current provision of assistance for housing costs between the tenures, most particularly between homeowners and tenants. For low-income homeowners who may have only a modest capital asset in their property, the asset neither improves their standard of living nor releases resources to cover housing costs.

As homeowners constitute 50% of those living in poverty, the report recommends that policies are drawn up to alleviate poverty and provide support to low-income homeowners in the form of a housing assistance which equates with that provided for the rented sector.

The current definition of Fuel Poverty is a household, which needs to spend more than 10% of its income to heat the home to an ‘adequate’ standard of warmth. The ‘adequate’ standard is 21% in the main living area and 18° in other occupied rooms.

The number of households at risk of fuel poverty in England were estimated by DEFRA (the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in 1996 to be at least 4.3 million, representing 21° of the total number of households. Taking Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council as typical of the country as a whole, there were at least 8,820 households at risk of fuel poverty in this area at that time. In this county, where many rural settlements are completely dependent on solid fuel heating and standard-tariff electricity for space and water heating, this may have been an underestimate of the extent of the problem.