A STRATEGY to help more young people access homeownership locally was approved unanimously by the advisers.

This document sets out the council’s goals for affordable housing through 2026, which includes adding additional housing as well as affordable and social rental housing, and works with developers to make these future housing units carbon neutral.

He is also looking to help young people move up the homeownership ladder, as the report says the average house price in the Royal Borough is around £ 476,000, which is 15 times the average salary in the Kingdom. -United.

Presenting the report at a plenary council meeting on Tuesday, June 29, Councilor Ross McWilliams, Senior Housing Member (Con: Cox Green), said the borough needs to “improve” its housing market because it “doesn’t not working ”for some residents.

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He said: “I see far too many cases, especially during Covid-19, where so-called ‘households within households’ are collapsing under the stress of the pandemic.

“We need more housing that is truly affordable for local people born and raised in RBWM [Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead], as well as to build these homes that attract people to the borough and want to add their skills and passion to our beautiful region.

Other priorities the strategy seeks to address are upgrading existing social housing with zero carbon technologies, ensuring it is accessible to people with disabilities, including super-fast broadband, and finding suitable sites for gypsies. and travelers.

While the newspaper was widely praised by members of the opposition, Liberal Democrat leader Councilor Simon Werner (Pinkneys Green) said it was “disappointing” that there was a “lack of goals ”in the newspaper in terms of the number of affordable housing units. must be built within the borough.

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He also called it a “position” document rather than a strategy.

In summary, Cllr McWilliams said that this document is a further document in the commitment of their goals and objectives to achieve the objective of affordable housing and social rent as set out in the local borough plan (BLP) .

Meanwhile, Councilor Julian Sharpe (Con: Ascot & Sunninghill) was concerned that the BLP would need to be changed in order to accommodate these changes.

It has been understood that the BLP is “set in stone” and cannot be changed.

Despite some concerns, councilors unanimously approved the housing strategy.