South Dorset’s new MP Lloyd Hatton says he will insist on an urgent meeting with Aster housing group after hearing the scale of the problem caused by its social homes sell-off policy.
Lloyd Hatton, whose constituency includes Purbeck, called an emergency summit in Corfe Castle in Dorset on Friday 25th October 2024 after villagers started a protest when a three bedroom home in Halves Cottages was put on the open market for £350,000 instead of being rented to a local family in need.
The housing association property in Halves Cottages which sparked a protest when Aster listed it for open sale
Aster accused of being greedy
Since then, it is understood that the sale has gone through – although Aster has declined to confirm or deny the sale – while another two Aster homes in the same road have been standing empty for months.
Aster has also earmarked its garage site at West Street, Corfe Castle, for sale by public auction, with a formal notice to quit by 24th November 2024 sent out to local residents – part of an ongoing, wider review of all Aster garage blocks.
At the meeting, local residents accused the housing association group of being greedy, selling off properties in high cost villages as holiday or second homes and building replacements in cheaper locations, forcing families out of Purbeck.
It was claimed that one Aster property in East Lulworth was sold to a couple from Kent who now use it as a holiday home, instead of the company choosing to sell it to a local family.
Aster – which is based in Devizes, Wiltshire, and no longer has an office in Purbeck – did not send anyone to the meeting despite an invitation, but has said that it understands the concerns of local residents and also the need to retain affordable homes in rural areas.
Garages owned by Aster in West Street, Corfe Castle, were put up for sale as part of a ‘wider review’ of all Aster garage blocks
“Communities get hollowed out”
MP Lloyd Hatton said:
“My big concern is that when housing associations sell off homes without replacing them in the same area, local residents get forced out and it changes the entire feel of a community.
“We have seen this in villages across South Dorset where communities get hollowed out as housing associations decide not to renovate homes in their possession and sell them instead.
“Their financial choices are really important – they want to build other houses in cheaper places so they can expand the number of houses they have altogether.
“That’s fine until you ask what happens to people who live in this village when the new houses are nowhere near here, so they are not really offering a viable alternative.
“If you have kids at school or family around the corner and they want you to move to Weymouth or Portland or Dorchester, that is not a solution.”
Corfe Castle is one of many Purbeck villages which some residents claim is being hollowed out, as many can no longer afford to live there
“We have to look across all areas of housing”
Lloyd Hatton added:
“Locally, I will meet with Aster and raise everything that has been said and point out that they are looking at the business from a financial point of view rather than what is best for the village.
“I think a very robust case should be made that if Aster is going to sell local homes, they should deliver replacement homes very close by – saying there will be new properties in Dorchester or Bridport is not going to cut it.
“Nationally, we should be looking at what housing associations are and are not able to do and part of that will be holding them accountable for breaking a contract if they are shrinking the number of houses available in areas like Purbeck.
“We have to look across all areas of housing, whether that’s second homes, Airbnbs, holiday lets, housing associations and groups like the National Trust.
“While they might say individually it’s only a few houses, together they all add up and it is having a real damaging impact on places like Swanage, Corfe Castle and Worth Matravers.”
Rachel Fooks, pictured with her uncle Dave Fooks, leading the protest against the sell-off of social housing
“Aster’s operating profits are enormous”
Corfe Castle resident Rachel Fooks, who set up a campaign to challenge housing associations which sell off affordable rental properties, said:
“If Aster sold off one local home, it could use that money to improve all the rest of its stock in Corfe Castle rather than allowing that money to go elsewhere and build homes in Bridport or Dorchester, which are of no use to us.
“But they don’t actually need to sell any properties. In my opinion, Aster’s operating profits are enormous and they are hiding behind the line that they need to sell off properties to reinvest in other stock.
“They don’t draw dividends, but they do draw enormous salaries – the chief executive officer is on £350,000 a year.
“They not only collect rent from all their tenants, but also take money from Homes England to provide affordable housing, which is just not going to happen in Corfe.”
There was an attempt to build houses on West Street car park in Corfe Castle
Social housing stock is precious to village
The meeting heard that up to 40 percent of homes in Corfe Castle are currently second or holiday homes and with little chance of new affordable homes being built, Aster’s stock was precious to the village.
Locals called on Aster to improve the management of its 64 homes in the village, investing in repairs rather than selling off homes that it says are uneconomical to renovate – and providing truly affordable homes for local families.
But the meeting heard that possibly as many as 16 Aster homes in Purbeck had been sold off in the past year, with all work to replace kitchens and bathrooms put on hold for properties in Halves Cottages.
Lloyd Hatton MP called an emergency meeting at the Castle Inn, Corfe Castle, to discuss the problem of social housing
“Terrifying when you see wider picture”
Rachel Fooks said:
“If work to improve homes isn’t undertaken, when a tenancy ends they can say the rooms need updating, the work is too expensive and the house should be sold.
“But families who are waiting for homes don’t care, they would be happy with anything and then with the support of their family can improve it themselves. They just want homes, anything is better than a family of five stuck in emergency, two-bed housing.
“There are two empty three bedroom houses in Corfe Castle, so why is any family in emergency housing? It is terrifying when you see the wider picture.
“There are 847 people in Purbeck alone waiting for a home on the housing register, and these aren’t people who just fancy a cheap house, these are people in real need of social housing, or trying to get away from abusive partners.”
Corfe Castle parish councillor Melanie Roberts warned that older houses are about to become more expensive to maintain
“Things are about to get a lot worse”
Although the Halves Cottage home that has been sold off by Aster has an energy performance certificate of a C rating, Corfe Castle parish councillor Melanie Roberts said:
“Things are about to get a lot worse – at the moment, it is not possible for any landlord to rent a house which doesn’t meet the Energy Performance Certificate level of E, but that is due to rise to level C in April 2025.
“If Aster suddenly finds it has to put in new central heating, a replacement boiler, new double glazing, roof and floor insulation, there will be a massive bill and they will question whether it is economically viable to rent that house out.
“Landlords can apply for exemptions, but it is just another expense that will put them off reletting a property – and in villages like this, the old houses will never meet those levels because they have stone roofs and stone walls.”
Aster’s property in Halves Cottages was put up for sale at £350,000
No decision to sell is taken lightly
A spokesperson for Aster Group said:
“We recognise and understand the concerns being raised by local residents and we also understand the need to retain affordable homes in rural areas.
“We’re always looking for more opportunities to build more affordable homes in the area so we can provide more options for local people.
“For instance, we’re actively working with Corfe Castle Community Land Trust to find suitable land locally to try and deliver more sustainable and affordable homes that the community wants and needs.
“We continually review our homes to make sure they are safe, well maintained and affordable to run for our customers. When a property becomes vacant, we thoroughly assess its condition before any new customer moves in.
“Any decision to sell a property is not taken lightly. We reinvest proceeds of any sales into building more modern, energy efficient, affordable homes, as well as maintaining our other homes for the benefit of our customers.”
28 new homes in Spyway, Langton Matravers, were built with help from the Aster Group in 2023 – but 1,500 people applied for them
Building more affordable homes in Dorset
The spokesperson added:
“Currently we own and manage nearly 9,000 affordable homes in Dorset. We intend to build over 700 new affordable homes in the county over the next five years.
“Over the last three years we have released 91 properties in Dorset and put the proceeds towards building 419 more good quality, sustainable, new affordable homes throughout the county, including five social rent homes in Worth Matravers.
“We’ll continue to work with the local authority and parish councils to identify new sites for building more affordable homes in Dorset.”
