Glenn Wickman
THE Valencian Housing department is set to publish its first ever report into the availability of land to build protected and affordable housing throughout the region.
According to the study, there is enough land in the 542 towns and cities that make up the provinces of Alicante, Valencia and Castellon to build 47,900 new council houses, or VPPs in Spanish.
The Valencian Community is said to be below the Spanish average when it comes to this type of property – a situation obviously not due to lack of space.
Researchers discovered a total of 444,115 square metres of publicly owned land currently standing empty that could be used to build VPPs.
If all the estimated 47,900 properties were built, the total number of council homes on offer would effectively double current demand.
However, half of that available land surface is not classed as urban, and as such would require specific development plans to be carried out before building.
But analysts also suggest that just the remaining half that is immediately ready for construction would be enough to provide affordable council housing to everyone presently on the waiting list.
The study has been timed to coincide with the launch of a part-public and part-private investment drive of €294 million to build nearly 2,500 VPPs throughout the Valencia region.
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