Excruciata Reees-Mog reveals how the housing crisis affects rich people as well as the poor and unwashed.
Hello my lovelies. Having just come back from the New Year’s day Quorn hunt at Melton Mowbray, this is a good moment to let you know of an issue that is affecting quite a few of my County friends.
While we relaxing after the hunt while the staff sorted out the horses I spoke with some of the younger riders and was horrified by what I was hearing. The news seems to be filled with tales of woe about a housing crisis that affects the poor with barely a thought about how the rich and affluent are affected.
Too much emphasis on affordable housing for poor people and not enough on availability of town houses, penthouses and manor houses for richer people.
Tabatha whispered to me that she and her partner couldn’t find a town house in the sort of areas they were looking for such as Camden, Hampstead or Notting Hill. They were currently slumming it in a Spitalfields penthouse appartment. “Mama doesn’t know so make sure you don’t give my full name”. Don’t worry Tabatha, Mrs Worthing won’t find out anything from me.
A young chap called Marcus had his Hampstead house, but just couldn’t find a county pad. Up until recently he had got away with just returning to his parents house in Norfolk. “Space isn’t the issue as they have nine bedrooms. They are dropping hints about being a hotel”. Young Marcus has been looking around Lincolnshire and Norfolk. Even with modest expectations of 5 or 6 bedrooms, there are no houses available.
“All the suitable houses have been snapped up as holiday lets and bed and breakfasts”. Marcus was frustrated that these selfish people had snapped all the houses in the nicest places.
A worried looking Jemima chimed in that this was sort of what had happened in the City. “All the decent apartments and flats have been snapped up as airBnB lets”. She was currently living in a Notting Hill apartment but lived in constant fear of forgetting to rebook the apartment for the following week.
With so many rich young people unable to acquire properties that reflected their lifestyle it is obvious that there needs to be less emphasis on houses for poor people and more focus on the availability of aspirational properties. Rich people need places to live as well.
Rich people have just as much right to suitable accommodation as poor people.
i spoke with my brother Jakey, and he said that he would look into diverting some of the Levelling Up money to acquire some suitable properties. He reckoned he could swing spending some money in Notting Hill by labelling it as tackling inner city housing shortages.
