Stoke Gabriel Housing Crisis

Our village of Stoke Gabriel in the South Hams area of South Devon, has over 700 homes, and is right on the edge of the beautiful River Dart, up river from Dartmouth, and attracts many holiday makers. This means there is a high proportion of second homes/holiday lets (often standing empty), coupled with high house prices.

The gap between earnings and house prices

People in our group who earn a low-average wage cannot buy and have the security of our own long-term home. We have to rent via private landlords due to the ever-widening gap between house prices and wages.  We are not-eligible for the limited supply of ‘Devon Home Choice' social housing. Our needs are called "intermediate housing needs for working people" by South Hams District Council.

Local House Prices.

A basic 2-bedroom house here costs over £300,000 and these often get snapped up by cash buyers as investments and let out at high rents. We have been working closely with our community, Parish Council, Neighbourhood Plan Group and South Hams District Council to understand housing needs here.

In Summary the Stoke Gabriel 2023 Housing Needs survey identified:

A need for 19 affordable homes in the next 5 years. 67% of villagers who answered the survey question said they would be likely to support a small development of affordable housing for local people.

The key evidence supporting the need for affordable housing comes from the 2023 Parish of Stoke Gabriel Housing Need’s Survey