WINCHESTER’S leaders lack the “political will” to provide genuinely affordable homes, a senior Green figure said at the launch of a report on Britain’s housing crisis.

South East MEP Keith Taylor criticised emphasis on so-called affordable rents, which are tied to rapidly increasing house prices, and urged civic chiefs to prioritise community interests over private developers.

Winchester is the second least affordable city in Britain, according to findings published last year. Lloyds Bank said the average Winchester house price is 9.65 times the average wage.

“The one thing that places like Winchester really lack is political will," Mr Taylor told a meeting last week . "You've got the administration which is looking to get developers to deliver development and listening to their tune, rather than actually doing what I think councils should do, which is working in the interests of the community and helping them identify what sort of local plans are most appropriate.

"I'll settle for being an idealist because that is what should happen."

Winchester City Council has undertaken months of consultation on its emerging Local Plan to build 12,500 homes in the district by 2031, but has been criticised for alleged softness with developers on schemes such as the Silver Hill regeneration.

Mr Taylor's report, Everyone Knows We Have a Housing Crisis: Let’s Do Something About It, calls for 8,650 new social homes to be built every year in the South East, rent control and more powers for councils to fill empty homes.

Around 40 people attended the city centre meeting. They heard speeches from Rob Gershon, of the Social Housing Under Threat pressure group, and Leanne Smith, chief executive of the Winchester Housing Trust.

Ms Smith criticised major housebuilding projects and called for work on smaller “pockets” of land, like those her charity has developed for shared equity and ownership in Winnall and Micheldever.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The meeting at St Peter's Church

But Conservative councillor Ian Tait told the Hampshire Chronicle that the city’s commitment to cheaper housing provision has been hindered by local opposition and lack of action by successive governments.

“If the local community support sites and bring them forward, that would be that, but I haven’t seen much evidence of that," said Cllr Tait, until recently the council’s portfolio holder for housing.

“You don’t often see people campaign to have development – you see them campaign not to have development.”

Winchester City Council's leader and housing portfolio holder, Cllrs Frank Pearson and Steve Miller, did not respond to a request for comment.