What Cheltenham Businesses Need Isn’t Tax Cuts or handouts—It’s Customers with Money to Spend
Cheltenham’s business community thrives when its residents have disposable income. However, high rent costs are draining household budgets, leaving less money for local businesses. The Green Party has put forward a plan to tackle the rental crisis, ensuring that renters have more financial freedom to support the town’s economy.
The Rent Burden
Currently, 35% of Cheltenham households are renters—far above the national average of 20%. Many of these renters are struggling under disproportionately high rental costs, spending between 30% and 40% of their disposable income on rent, with some paying as much as 50%. This leaves little room for other essentials, let alone discretionary spending that benefits local businesses. The Green Party argues that no one should be paying more than 25% of their income on rent.
The Impact of High Rents
Excessive rents mean fewer customers with money to spend, directly affecting Cheltenham’s business landscape. The town’s high housing costs are a major barrier to economic vitality, making affordable housing a crucial priority.
The Solution
The CTU exists to reverse rent increases and restore affordability. Their proposal is simple: rents should not exceed 25% of a tenant’s disposable income.
How to Achieve Affordable Rents
- Increase Housing Supply: The Party proposes building temporary and modular homes, potentially at Gloucestershire Airport in Staverton, to expand housing availability.
- Ethical Letting Agency: They plan to establish an agency that ensures fair treatment for both tenants and landlords, promoting reasonable rents and transparent rental agreements.
- Curbing Short-Term Lets: The Party seeks to limit whole-property short-term rentals, such as those listed on Airbnb, which reduce long-term rental availability and drive up prices.
- Declaring a Housing Emergency: By recognizing the housing crisis as an emergency, they aim to fast-track the development of affordable homes.
Beyond Rent Control
While rent control is often suggested, it can lead to unintended consequences, such as reduced investment in property maintenance. Instead, the Green Party emphasizes understanding market dynamics and psychological factors that influence housing affordability.
Addressing Root Causes
Environmental issues like biodiversity and air quality are important but they are symptoms of the effects of inequality, housing, and employment activity. Tackling inequality will naturally lead to environmental benefits. Their broader vision challenges a system that forces many to work harder while only a few reap substantial financial rewards that are funnelled to the top of a wealth pyramid, often never to be spent.
A New Vision for Work and Life
By tackling the housing crisis and increasing renters’ disposable income, Cheltenham can build a stronger local economy—one where businesses prosper, and residents enjoy a better quality of life.
