One of the biggest issues that Reading, Berkshire, England faces is ensuring that there is sufficient access to decent and affordable housing to meet needs. This presents a challenge across the country, but it is a particular difficulty in areas of economic success such as the Thames Valley, where house prices are high and there is significant demand for new homes. The Council’s Corporate Plan 2018-21 sets ‘improving access to decent housing to meet local needs’ as one of its six priorities, and identifies a need for a new Housing Strategy to address the issue.

The housing crisis needs to be addressed using a wide range of tools across local and national government functions, but the key contribution that a local planning authority can make is to secure the provision of affordable homes as part of new development. Affordable housing has a specific definition in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), but the key point is that it responds to a need that cannot be met by the market.