Trevor Ivory has today welcomed the news that more housing is to be delivered in North Norfolk over the next twenty years but has also sounded a note of caution.

“North Norfolk has one of the worst housing crisis in the country because of the double whammy of low average incomes and the demand for second and retirement homes. This combination of factors has pushed many people, especially young families, off the housing ladder in recent years, often forcing them to move away in search of cheaper property.”

“Local people will welcome the news that significant new housing is to be built in North Norfolk over the next two decades but the Government must now ensure that local people are given a real say in where the new housing should be delivered. We cannot have any more development is inappropriate places as we have seen all too often in the past.”

“Even more importantly, the Government must now ensure that the new housing is matched by significant additional funding in our community infrastructure. If we are going to have new houses, we must also have better health and transport facilities. It is also crucial that new development plays its part in meeting the cost of coastal defences; there is no point building new housing only to lose what we already have in places like Happisburgh, Hickling and Sea Palling – we will simply be moving the problem around rather than creating the new homes that we need.”