LAND owned by the county council could be turned into an affordable housing development if it is found that the properties are needed.

A survey is to be carried out into whether Berkeley needs any more affordable housing as Gloucestershire County Council has land available to sell on to a Housing Association.

The authority proposes to dispose of land in Lynch Road for the provision of affordable housing and has asked Gloucestershire Rural Community Council to undertake a survey into whether the town would need such a development.

At a meeting of Berkeley Town Council Martin Hutchings, rural housing enabler at GRCC, told members that a development could only go ahead if there was a real need in the town. Also due to regulations surrounding housing developments in rural towns any of the houses built on the site could only be rented by ‘local people’, which includes people who work in the town, have family in the town or did live in Berkeley and want to move back.

Mr Hutchings said: "Just because the council has some land to sell to a housing association it doesn’t necessarily mean it is appropriate to build affordable housing on the site, it is crucial we know there is a need for it in the town."

A survey will be dropping through residents’ doors in the next month or two that will ask questions such as how long have you lived in your house, how many people live in the house, what kind of house is it? There will then be a separate questionnaire for people looking for affordable housing or who thinks they will be looking for affordable housing in the next five years.

Mayor of Berkeley Valerie Watts said she would like to encourage youngsters to fill out the survey as they are the group most likely to benefit from the proposed development.

She said: "There are lots of young people who in a few years' time might be getting a job or starting a family and these are the people who will need the houses."

If an affordable housing development went ahead it would be mainly rented properties and would likely be a mix of one, two and three bedroom homes. Affordable housing is subsidised by the Government and you could expect to pay in the region of £90 per week for a three bedroom property.