THE Haslemere Initiative group is assessing the housing needs in Grayswood and Haslemere North in an effort to help locals who are being priced out of the area because of the lack of affordable housing. All residents in the Haslemere North and Grayswood Ward should get a copy of a 'housing needs' survey next week, to gauge local peoples' housing needs and attitudes towards "a possible small development" of affordable homes specifically for local people. The survey is being conducted in conjunction with Surrey Community Action. In addition, anybody with a local connection, but does not currently live in the area, is invited to contact the Haslemere Initiative or Surrey Community Action for additional copies of the questionnaire. Residents and interested parties can contact the Haslemere Initiative or Surrey Community Action group via the community website: www. haslemere.com Participants are being asked to return the questionnaire by the end of June. The Haslemere Initiative has drawn up the survey because of a severe shortage of affordable homes in the area, and specific planning policies, which apply to rural villages such as Grayswood, make it possible to reserve affordable homes for local people. Development would only be allowed if the survey shows that local people are in need of affordable housing. Under the Rural Exception Site policy, homes built on land on the edge of a village must be reserved for local people and must all be affordable – that is, either for social rent or shared ownership, which is when a share is bought of the value of a property. Provisions must also be put in place to ensure the homes could never be sold on the open market.