A former lettings agent is leading the campaign which has seen a Somerset town declare a housing crisis.

Polly Lamb (main picture), who is now a local councillor, proposed the idea of officially describing Frome as a ‘housing crisis’ hotspot.

Soaring rents now out of reach for many local people have prompted the move, which is designed to draw attention to the acute problems.

A shortage of affordable housing in Frome is clear with the average rent now at nearly £1,500 a month, which is 50% of the typical salary.

Rocketed

Lamb, who ran a letting agency for 11 years, says: “Rents have skyrocketed and that is pushing out local people who have been here all their lives.”

The town is the third in the country to declare a formal housing crisis, after South Hams in south Devon and Leicester.

Lamb hopes the declaration will make housing a top priority for the council, in all its policies.

Tempted

Frome is seen as an attractive place to live, being named as the best in the South West by the Sunday Times in 2021.

Many people have moved to the area from London, tempted by the town’s shops and cafes, and the beautiful scenery of the Mendips.

There are very few homes available that local people can afford.”

“There are very few homes available that local people can afford,” Lamb told the BBC.

There are 600 families on the official council list, waiting to be housed, and so far this year, only 50 have been found a home.

Urgent

Developers “continue to gnaw round the edges of the town”, Lamb said. “But they are all building large, expensive family homes, because that’s where the profit is. We need social housing, urgently.”

South Hams is planning to double council tax on second homes. Frome Town Council does not have that authority to do the same, but it will urge Somerset county council to build more affordable homes.

Main picture credit: BBC