Bridport is the midst of a housing ‘emergency’, it is feared, and serious questions have been raised over how it can be tackled.

At a full meeting of Bridport Town Council on Tuesday, councillors and members of the public shared deep concern over a lack of social housing, availability of private rentals and the impact both are having on young people and families locally.

During the public forum, North Allington resident Mark Gage told a packed town hall: “Our young people do not have access to housing at the affordable rents they so desperately need. I have personal experience of this, having seen both my children have to leave the town they grew up in because there are no properties to rent. I am not alone in this; it’s a story I see reported time and time again in Bridport and the surrounding areas. If we’re not careful, we’ll see a mass exodus of young people.”

Resident Glenn Crawford was part of a team which analysed the area’s housing needs for the Neighbourhood Plan compilation during 2015 to 2019. 

“Time and again during public consultations people would say to us what a negative effect the quantity of holiday and second homes has, and said they added to the difficulty local people have in getting onto the housing ladder,” Mr Crawford told the meeting.

“Any property which is kept empty for most of the time is a loss to the area’s housing stock.” Mr Crawford raised the idea of Primary Residence planning restriction on new homes, although this is not something within the town council’s control.

It came as Cllr Anna Killick proposed a lengthy motion calling for action.

It proposed that the town council; commits to helping to develop and support local Community Land Trusts to build social housing; open a continuing dialogue with Magna and other local housing associations to help with the delivery of social housing and support of residents; help identify and propose potential sites for new, solely, social housing developments; include in the Neighbourhood Plan a provision of primary residence requirement for new homes.

It  also called upon Dorset Council to; lobby central government, and to work in partnership with other local planning authorities to campaign for, greater devolved planning powers that allow them to develop a Local Plan that meets the needs of local residents rather than facilitating the growth of profits for national development companies; dedicate revenue received from doubling second home council tax to a specific social housing fund; develop a policy that urgently brings about the building of social housing for rent, beginning with land owned by Dorset Council.

While most councillors agreed fully that housing is an issue that needs to be urgently  addressed, the motion left them split.

Cllr Kelvin Clayton seconded the motion, saying the planning system needed change. “At the moment it is reactive and we need to be proactive,” he said.

Cllr Sarah Carney agreed, saying there are many examples of families waiting ‘years’ in accommodation that doesn’t meet their needs.  

She said now was the time for Dorset Council to be ‘bold, imaginative and innovative’ like other councils across the country.

Cllr Ian Bark said all of the points made were already being addressed elsewhere, such as the Neighbourhood Plan.

Cllr Paddy Mooney said it ‘didn’t go far enough’ and more detail was required, and this was echoed by Cllrs Andrew Holdridge and David Worthington, who all suggested creating a cross-party motion together as a town council.

It was suggested the motion, and those who put it together, was ‘party political’, as no Lib Dem councillors were invited to discuss it beforehand, but this was strenuously denied.

Cllr Clayton said he was ‘surprised’ at the accusation, saying “the feeling I’m getting from the Lib Dems is they don’t want a Lib Dem town council putting a motion to a Lib Dem Dorset Council.”

While all councillors agreed the sentiment was right, the motion was rejected by a majority.