Huddersfield faces a predicament. The population is
growing and the provision of new housing isn’t keeping up. With the average age
of a Huddersfield person being 38.1 years (compared to the Yorkshire and Humber
average of 39.4 years old and the national average of 39.4 years of age), the
population of Huddersfield is growing at an alarming rate. This is due to an
amalgamation of longer life expectancy, a fairly high birth rate (compared to
previous decades) and high net immigration, all of which contribute to housing
shortages and burgeoning house prices.
My colleagues and myself work closely with Durham
University and they have kindly produced some statistics specifically for the
Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council area. Known as the UK’s leading authority
for such statistics, their population projections make some startling reading…
For the Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council area ...
these are the statistics and future forecasts
2016
population 437,122
2021
population 451,142
2026
population 464,048
2031
population 475,860
2036
population 486,424
The normal ratio of people to property is 2 to 1 in
the UK, which therefore means...
We need just under 25,000 additional new
properties to be built
in the Kirklees Metropolitan Borough
Council area over the next 20 years.
Whilst focusing on population growth does not tackle
the housing crisis in the short term in Huddersfield, it has a fundamental role
to play in long-term housing development and strategy in the town. The rise of
Huddersfield property values over the last six years since the credit crunch
are primarily a result of a lack of properties coming onto the market, a lack
of new properties being built in the town and rising demand (especially from
landlords looking to buy property to rent them out to the growing number of
people wanting to live in Huddersfield but can’t buy or rent from the Council).
Although many are talking about the need to improve
supply (i.e. the building of new properties), the issue of accumulative demand
from population growth is often overlooked. Nationally, the proportion of 25-34
year olds who own their own home has dropped dramatically from 66.7% in 1987 to
43.8% in 2014, whilst 78.2% of over 65s own their own home. Longer life
expectancies mean houses remain in the same hands for longer.
The swift population growth over the last thirty years
provides more competition for the young than for mature population. It
might surprise some people that 98% of all the land in the UK is either
industrial, commercial or agricultural, with only two percent being used for housing,
which means one could propose expanding supply to meet a expanding population
by building on green belt – that most Politian’s haven’t got the stomach to
tackle, especially in the Tory’ strongholds of the South of England, where the
demand is the greatest. People mention brownfield sites, but recent research
suggests there aren’t as many sites to build on, especially in Huddersfield
that could accommodate 25,000 properties in the next 20 years.
In the short to medium term, demand for a roof over of
one’s head will continue to grow in Huddersfield (and the country as a whole).
In the short term, that demand can only be met from the private rental sector
(which is good news for homeowners and landlords alike as that keeps house
prices higher).
In the long term though, local and national Government
and the UK population as a whole, need to realise these additional millions of
people over the next 20 years need to live somewhere. Only once this issue
starts to get addressed, in terms of extra properties being built in a
sustainable and environmentally friendly way, can we all help create a socially
ecological prosperous future for everyone. For more thoughts on the
Huddersfield Property market, please visit the Huddersfield Property Market
Blog https://huddersfieldproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
No comments:
Post a Comment