Ensure Bexhill's Help to Buy scheme stays genuine

From: A. M. Healey, Alford Way, Bexhill

Readers will be well aware help to buy projects have arrived in Bexhill, with a planned project due consisting of one thousand plus houses.

Rother Council have gained many millions of pounds from these projects thanks to section 6 of the Planning Laws, most of which appears to have entered the council reserve funds.

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This raised the question, why should Rother monitor such projects?

The answer lies in a recent study which claims that one in five people using the help to buy scheme already own a home or have an income, in some cases of £50,000.00 or more.

Bearing in mind this is a tax-payer funded scheme, one local developer has declared an annual revenue of 4.9 billion pound.

For those good at maths, that is £95,000.00 an hour, made in line with all other developers.

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The criteria to help to buy is to assist people on low incomes, first time buyers, and provide limited social housing.

I totally support the aim of the criteria, and Rother Council has a role to play in ensuring developers strictly enforce the stated criteria.

Developers and any applicants for the right to buy scheme or project must not be allowed to rip off tax payers, thereby depriving genuine, and often deserving people from being housed locally.

From a concerned tax payer.