Cumbria Community Foundation - Furness: Opportunities and Challenges 2021

F U R N E S S – O P P O R T U N I T I E S & C H A L L E N G E S 26 O P P O R T U N I T I E S n Housing is affordable across much of Low Furness, certainly in comparison with many other parts of England. n The plentiful supply of housing means that overcrowding is rare. n Community-based solutions such as community land trusts provide potential solutions for rural areas where affordability is a greater issue. Challenges: n Overcoming difficulties facing first- time buyers and renters in High Furness where demand for second homes, retirement homes and holiday lets has pushed up prices and reduced the supply of homes for rent. n Improving Barrow’s legacy housing stock, much of it dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries and in need of modernisation. n Tackling homelessness. Housing House prices are barely half the national norm, in part because valuations genuinely are lower and in part because relatively inexpensive terraced homes make up a high proportion of the housing stock. 3 2011 Census 4 Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government The average price of a home across Furness is £164,977 1 (England: £311,439). There is a big variation between Low Furness, where the average is £136,491, and High Furness, £259,473. Prices are highest within the Lake District National Park. Another way to assess affordability is the savings ratio 2 , the number of months’ average earnings required for a 15% deposit. This is 7.4 months for the average home in Furness (England: 10.41). The same ratio for the cheapest homes – as typically bought by first-time buyers – is 5.72 months (England: 6.54) and only 4.12 months in Low Furness. 1 Valuation Office Agency 2 Office for National Statistics But for High Furness it is 7.65, well above the national average, highlighting the difficulties faced by first-time buyers in rural areas where they may be competing against purchasers from other parts of the country looking to retire or acquire a second home. Second homes make up 6.4% 3 of the housing stock in High Furness (England: 0.6%). Similarly, the attractive returns to be made from holiday lets in rural areas constrict the supply of homes available to rent. One organisation which aimed to tackle housing provision in rural areas was Coniston Housing Trust - formerly Coniston and Torver Community Land Trust - which was responsible for the development of affordable houses for rent in both villages. The affordability of housing across much of Furness explains the high proportion of owner-occupiers. 73.8% 3 own their homes (England: 64.1%). Much of Barrow is terraced housing built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Terraced homes account for 42.3% 2 of Furness’ housing stock (England: 24.5%). Conversely, the proportions of detached homes and flats are below average. Some 42.4% 1 of the housing stock was built before 1918 (England: 20.8%) and only 6.7% since 2000 (England: 14.5%). Where developers are building, they tend to favour larger detached and semi-detached family homes with outdoor space. Examples include Abbey Heights, near Furness General Hospital, which has 142 plots including some of the most expensive homes in Barrow, and Levens View in Ulverston. The area’s relatively elderly housing stock brings its own problems. 7% 3 of homes lack central heating with the highest concentration, 25.8%, in Barrow Island ward. Homelessness is an issue in Barrow. Between October and December 2020, 40 4 families and individuals were identified as homeless. A further 39 households were eligible for assistance from Barrow Council because they were at risk of homelessness. 4