PETERSFIELD will soon be starved of housing for young people if more homes are not built in the town, a former mayor warned this week.
John Crowhurst, who recently resigned from his role as district councillor for Petersfield to concentrate on community issues at the town council, told members of the town's planning committee it was crucial that more housing developments were put forward in the town.
He urged fellow councillors to form a special working party to look at the problem.
"There are no sites for affordable housing at the moment apart from the one being completed next to Boots in the centre of the town."
Mr Crowhurst told the meeting: "The first development which includes affordable housing planned to come on stream at the moment would be Ramshill, and that would probably not be until the year after next."
The second site which could bring forward affordable homes was the controversial town council-owned Pennsfield site, he said.
"At the moment the district council has 300 families registered as in need of homes," Mr Crowhurst told the meeting,
He warned that if the Causeway Farm site was not developed early in the next local plan's building programme, "Petersfield is going to be starved of affordable housing and young people will have nowhere to live in the town."
The Causeway site is earmarked in the latest review of the local plan for 275 homes, including some affordable houses. But it has been put on the back burner and removed to a reserve list which will only come forward if special monitoring shows it is necessary.
This latest draft of the local plan, which has painstakingly been drawn up by officers over several months, was unveiled to district councillors last week.
Bob Ayer told the town council's planning meeting that councillors had agreed to develop the site in two phases. They said they wanted to see 175 houses built in the first phase and 100 in the second.
Elsa Bulmer told fellow councillors it was not just affordable housing which was missing.
"We are not building any houses in this town at the moment. We are short of houses and it's not just social housing, we are almost at a standstill."
Chairman of the town council's planning committee, George Watkinson, told councillors East Hampshire District Council's planners were aware of the need for social housing throughout the district.
"I understand your concern," he told Mr Crowhurst, "and I'm on your side. We must keep in touch with our district councillors and keep pushing for more affordable housing."
He said he would consult other members of the town council and if necessary take the issue to the full council to debate the setting up of a working party.