Cllr Dan Thomas, Leader of South Hams District Council, said: “We’ve had a look at the recent CPRE report on affordable housing, and I want to be clear that while we welcome scrutiny and discussion about affordable housing, it doesn’t reflect what’s really going on here.

“In the Joint Local Plan, there isn’t a separate affordable housing target just for South Hams because we plan for the whole area together. Since 2014, we’ve built 1,394 new affordable homes in the District. Even using the (wrong) CPRE numbers (Click here for CPRE figures and report), we’ve met our identified affordable housing needs for over ten years. This shows we’re serious about fixing the housing crisis.

“The report mixes up two very different ways of measuring housing need — one based on household growth and another on the number of homes. You can’t really compare the two. It also adds up housing completions all the way back to 1997, without recognising that our policies have changed a lot since then. With the Joint Local Plan in place, we’re in a very different position now — so judging us on old data doesn’t give a fair picture.

“It also looks at affordable housing as a percentage of all housing permissions, but misses the fact that smaller sites (under 10 homes) don’t have to provide affordable housing under government rules. We have quite a few small sites in our area, so of course that affects the overall percentage — but that doesn’t mean we’re falling short. We’re working within the national policy framework.

“There’s also no mention of the affordable housing that comes through other routes — for example, when homes originally approved as market housing are later sold to housing associations. That kind of thing happens more and more, and those homes still help local people — even if they’re not showing up in the official stats.

“On top of that, we support a number of Community Land Trusts and have a bespoke rural housing offer in place, both of which help deliver genuinely affordable homes in our smaller communities. Much of this sits outside the traditional planning system, and it’s making a real difference in areas where housing need is high.

“What we are doing is delivering. Through our Joint Local Plan, we’ve got strong, affordable housing policies in place. Big strategic sites like Sherford are already bringing forward thousands of homes, including many affordable ones. That’s real progress.

“As part of our commitment to tackling housing need in the South Hams, we’re also preparing a new housing needs assessment to inform the next Local Plan review. This will help us target delivery where it’s needed most — based on up-to-date evidence and local demand.

“Yes, it’s a challenge — but we’re on it. We know how important affordable housing is, and we’re committed to getting as much as we can delivered in a way that works for our communities. This report just doesn’t tell the whole story.”