SOUTH Hams councillors are calling on Housing Minister Brandon Lewis to visit the South Hams to hear about the local housing crisis.

District councillor Julian Brazil cited Dartmouth as one of the problem areas for housing.

Cllr Brazil pointed out how the crisis is hitting the town, where there are problems finding key people to run and staff the community hospital – which he claimed could have to close.

‘They cannot get the staff because they cannot afford to live in that area,’ he said. ‘Soon there will be many key services that will not be able to continue because people working in those services will not be able to live in the area.’

Dartmouth mayor Rob Lyon said he thought a meeting with Mr Lewis would be a ‘good move’ and that the two issues that the town council were most concerned about were ‘properly paid jobs’ and ‘more housing’.

‘Dartmouth Town Council are looking at ways to help provide sensibly paid jobs, so more people can live and work here, and provide housing for them.

‘We’ve been looking at several areas, and the proposal at West Dart is being held up with planning issues over affordable housing.

‘The town council are working extremely hard to try to arrange this with our limited finances and limited powers we have. We need to ensure there are more jobs, and more people, or places like the academy and the hospital will close because there are not enough people to work there.’

Government proposals to sell off housing association homes and challenge rules forcing small-scale developers to build affordable homes as part of their projects can only make matters worse, district councillors were warned.

Government moves to encourage the building of starter homes with a 20 per cent discount on rural exception sites will actually lead to a decrease in affordable housing, Cllr Brazil warned.

He claimed the proposal would result in homes being built that are still well out of the reach of people living in a low-wage economy area, such as the South Hams.

He said the starter homes plan would not work in a rural area, like the South Hams, where a 20 per cent discount would still leave people needing an income of more than £50,000 to buy one.

The average wage in the South Hams is around £20,000, according to 2013 figures released by the district council.

‘In order to buy a house with a 20 per cent discount, you would need a household income of £50,000 to £60,000.

‘We live in a low-wage economy and that does not help our population.’

His comments came as he called on South Hams Council to back a motion calling on Mr Lewis to come to the South Hams to listen to local concerns about the housing crisis and ‘explore alternative solutions’.

The council unanimously backed the motion as they supported the large part of the Government’s Rural Product­ivity Plan but questioned the solution it contains to solving local housing needs in the South Hams.

Cllr Brazil added that the 20 per cent discount on starter homes would only last five years. ‘It might help initially but then you are back to square one,’ he said.

He also said that with house prices going up by five per cent a year by 2020, ‘we will be back to where we are now’.

Council leader Cllr John Tucker said the minister had been invited to the district for a meeting some months ago and had ‘declined at the last minute’.

‘I am happy to invite him back again and perhaps persuade him to come,’ he added.