I was asked recently what the difference is between affordable houses where people can apply who have a district connection and houses advertised where you have to show a much more local, village connection.
All affordable rented houses are advertised on HomeLink. In order to bid people need to show a local connection, i.e. live, work or have family in the Cambridge area. A further local connection for the majority of properties is that you have to have a local connection to the District too.
There is an exception to this rule - homes can be built outside of the village boundary, for affordable housing for local people.
These are called exception sites and one is currently going up in Newton Road.This scheme will provide 8 units, with an expected completion date of July.
What we need to do is find some more sites outside the village boundary but then we have to find a builder to build the houses, and that isn't easy because most builders want to build commercially priced houses which they can sell for a lot more money. Being flexible and allowing one or two commercial houses in the mix might attract more builders.
I am going to discuss with officers at the district council and see what else can be done.
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