For many islanders even the first rung of the housing ladder is now out of reach. Greater efforts are needed to increase access to affordable, environmentally-sound housing. I offer three suggestions:
- unused land and redundant office space could be granted planning permission for conversion into residential space
- the States and commercial lenders could consider joint guarantees for lending, instituting a revamped “Homes for Workers” scheme
- planning permission for home extensions incorporating environmental upgrades could come with tax breaks, or similar incentives.