Councillor Matthew Ellis
Councillor Matthew Ellis

A councillor has called for affordable homes to be the focus when plans for housing development in Lichfield are drawn up.

Staffordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, Cllr Matthew Ellis, claimed the high price of properties in the area “breaks down traditional communities”.

And Cllr Ellis – who is also the  has also joined the mounting opposition to large scale home-building in the area.

Writing on his blog, he said:

“I do think we need some extra housing in the Lichfield area over the next 20-or-so years but it needs to be targeted so we don’t get sprawl into protected green belt areas and it has to be the right sort of housing.

“And by that I mean the need for smaller less expensive housing in and around villages who want it to help families stay closer together as ‘the kids’ grow up and leave. Some villages have already supported small scale extra housing to help retention of local people.

“Buying property around Lichfield district is so expensive it actually prevents, in most cases, sons and daughters and their families living close by to parents which in turn breaks down traditional communities.”

But despite an acknowledged need for more affordable housing in the city and surrounding area, the Conservative councillor added:

“That certainly doesn’t mean we need the thousands of houses being forced on the district by the Government under the cover of an Independent Review.”

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.