Princess Anne's housing speech

Apr 11, 2008, 12:05 GMT

HRH Princess Anne (R), the Princess Royal accepts the Olympic torch from Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee, Jiang Xiaoyu, during the Olympic Torch Relay finale at the O2 Dome on 06 April 2008 in London, England. The 2008 Beijing Olympics torch will be carried by respected sports personalities and celebrities from Wembley Stadium to the grand finale at the O2 Dome, including China Town, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament and London Bridge, amid crowds of spectators. EPA/Chris Jackson / Pool

Britain's Princess Anne described the growing affordable housing problem in the UK as a "chasm" yesterday (10.04.08).

The princess - who is the president of the Rural Housing Trust - addressed the issue in her keynote speech at the annual Chartered Institute of Housing conference at Torquay's Palace Hotel, in South Devon.

The princess said: "When you look at the affordable gap, which is true in most areas, here in the South West you could probably describe it as a chasm.

"It is particularly a problem in villages, where the opportunities to rent, never mind buy or part-buy a home, are not just limited but are almost non-existent.

"Behind the so-called rural idyll lies a genuine housing problem."

Anne said it was of particular importance that nurses, teachers, and others working in public services could afford to buy homes in the areas they worked in.

South Devon's Herald Express newspaper reports she told the audience: "The impact of affordable housing on villages is that it keeps families together, retains the number of people you need to keep and retain the fire fighting force in the area and it is somewhere for local teachers and local nurses to live.

"Building houses where people need them sometimes requires a little bit more understanding and imagination and knowledge of what those communities want."

(C) BANG Media International