Conservative MP: 'Immigration to blame for housing shortage'

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing

A Conservative MP claims "large-scale" immigration is a significant factor for the housing shortage in Wales.

David Davies, MP for Monmouth, has produced figures which suggest Monmouthshire will have to continue building houses for an extra 350 people per annum for many years to come "just to keep up with demand caused by net migration alone."

In addition, increased life expectancy, population growth and family break-ups will fuel demand further, he added.

“There is a real danger that immigration is becoming an issue which only extremists will raise,” said Mr Davies.

“It goes without saying that the millions of law abiding people who have come here, learnt English, got jobs and integrated into society are to be made welcome and those who try to whip up prejudice based on ethnicity or where people were born should be completely condemned.

Mr Davies also pointed to the fact that a growing number of people "in so-called third world countries" are now enjoying "first-world standards of living".

"The proposal to build a holiday village near Llandeilo aimed at the growing Chinese tourism market is proof of this. I welcome tourism ventures which are an opportunity to create jobs and I think more could be done to ensure our visa system enables genuine tourists to travel here," he explained.

“At the same time we cannot escape the fact that continued large scale immigration is fuelling the demand for housebuilding, including in areas like Monmouthshire, even though the number of recent UK arrivals living here is small.

Mr Davies said housing demand in Wales was due to the "ripple effect" - where most new arrivals to the UK start in London and other major cities, creating a situation where longer standing residents are "pushed" into outer areas, which in turn "displaces" others over a period of time.

"In simple terms, housing becomes scarce in London so some move out to Reading for example. This in turn displaces Reading residents to Swindon and so on with demand for housing increasing along major transport routes as people move further away to get access to cheaper housing.

“In Monmouthshire, with a population of 85,000, we constitute 0.14 per cent of the UK population of 60 million. 0.14 per cent of the 250,000 annual population increase is 350, meaning that to deal with the effect of the annual immigration increase Monmouthshire County Council will have to continue building hundreds of houses for 350 people a year for many years to come.

“In reality, because of its location near major transport routes such as the M4, Monmouthshire may well end up seeing much higher demand but most parts of Wales will be affected in some way by rising population.

“In Monmouthshire one of the major towns in the county can expect to see fields set aside to build hundreds of extra homes each year, or alternatively whole new housing estates will be thrown up in the open countryside. It is shocking but inevitable and those who are angry should voice their support for measures to reduce the increase in Britain’s population.

“Groups like Greenpeace and the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales have avoided this issue for years, while Friends of the Earth is in complete denial. It is too often seen as a subject which shouldn’t be raised in polite society. Yet in reality if the population is to grow by 250,000 a year those who come here must have housing.

“The time has come for environmental groups to come off the fence and join a broad coalition of moderate centre left and right politicians who completely abhor xenophobia and racism, but wish to voice their concerns about the effect of population growth on the environment”.

Mr Davies has written to a number of environmental groups to seek their support, on environmental grounds, for government measures to reduce immigration into the UK.

A report in December 2009  found the impact of migrant workers on the housing market in parts of north and west Wales "would appear to be limited". There was no evidence to suggest workers from outside the UK were living in social housing in the six counties involved.

The study was commissioned by the then Welsh coalition government because of concern about the impact of housing demand generated by migrant households.

But Plaid Cymru AM Jocelyn Davies, the housing minister at the time, said: "They tend not to be a burden on the local authority because they see to themselves and go into private rented accommodation where the jobs are."