Action plan aims to tackle island’s major housing crisis

Deputies behind the plan say it will include actions to deal with the biggest problems facing the island’s housing market.

Lindsay de Sausmarez, president of Environment & Infrastructure, which has led the work, told the Guernsey Press that the housing delivery plan would tackle problems with ‘the availability, suitability, affordability, accessibility and quality of housing across all tenures’.

The States agreed 12 months ago that the island’s housing needs and cost of living should be its top priorities. E&I started work on its housing plan towards the end of 2022.

‘We will be publishing a plan to address Guernsey’s significant housing problems, laying out wide-ranging and extensive actions that need to be taken to tackle the challenges head on,’ said Deputy de Sausmarez.

‘Quantitative and qualitative evidence has been used to inform what needs to be done and when.

‘We know that many islanders are really struggling because of the current housing situation.

‘While these problems are not unique to Guernsey, some are particularly acute compared with other places and they have a real impact on people’s quality of life.

‘That is why it is a top political priority, not just for E&I, but across the States as a whole.’

It is understood that E&I was asked to draw up the plan by a temporary working party on housing which included Deputies Peter Ferbrache and Peter Roffey, as well as Deputy de Sausmarez.

Although E&I does not intend to take the plan to the States, it wants to publish it ahead of a two-stage debate on the Government Work Plan.

The first stage is due to start on Tuesday next week with the second in September.

Deputy de Sausmarez said the housing delivery plan would be the first ‘single clear plan of action which collates and prioritises all the necessary work’ to deal with housing problems'.

‘As the committee responsible for general housing policy, we have taken the proactive approach to put together a consolidated, resourced plan, with deliverable timescales, to strive to ensure that all people living in Guernsey have access to housing that is affordable, secure, energy-efficient, and that meets their needs,’ she said.

Over the past five years, the average price of a local market house has increased by about 50%, whereas average earnings have increased only by about 20%.

And the gap between average house price and average earnings has widened still further since the States pledged last year to make housing one of its top two priorities.

‘There’s no one silver bullet.

'It’s important to fix the whole ladder of the housing market, not just individual rungs,’ said Deputy de Sausmarez.

She added that E&I had consulted widely across all sectors of the housing market before finalising its plan.

It hopes to publish it next week.