The South West of England, the second most expensive region in the UK for first-time buyers', will host a major debate on 24 July on how to remove barriers to building enough affordable homes.

Glastonbury Festival founder, Michael Eavis, will open the seminar, which is being held in Midsomer Norton in Somerset. The event also includes Cornish MP Matthew Taylor, who will highlight the crisis in rural housing, and Professor Steve Wilcox, an expert commentator on the national housing market.

The event is being organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) South West, Mendip Housing Association and the Aster group with the support of the Glastonbury Festival. It will include a question-time session facilitated by BBC journalist Chris Lowe and feature an expert panel representing developers, local councils, housing organisations and the community.


Results from a survey, undertaken at the recent Glastonbury Festival, of over 1,000 people looking into the obstacles young people face in getting a home of their own, will also be published at the event.

Wendy Murphy, CIH South West and Chair of the event, said: "Housing professionals will know only too well the difficulties families and young people are facing in finding a home. I hope the conference will inspire us to new efforts to tackle these problems by looking at what can be done. There is more money for new housing, but we have to find a collective will to overcome the barriers to delivery. We also need to understand new models of housing which work in rural areas, be they live/work schemes, community land trusts or innovative home ownership models."

Alan Brunt, Managing Director of Mendip Housing Association, said: "We desperately need to find ways to bridge the gap between people's dwindling ability to buy, which makes affordable rented homes even more crucial, and homeowners' desires to maintain the status quo which can prevent much needed homes from being built. We have to find ways to encourage a climate of commitment on the ground to make sure affordable homes get built in communities that desperately need them. We hope this conference will help towards this goal."

(CD/JM)