I was out delivering my new survey round the Sandpiper Pub up in Cleveleys Park this afternoon. We have all read about how the housing market has dropped off a cliff, but walking the streets of bungalows really brought it home to me. It was amazing just how many were vacant – and not necessarily even for sale. At a time when we keep being told there is a need to build new housing on greenfield land because of demand, I wonder why that demand cannot be satisfied with the existing housing stock. Tastes, yes, may have changed but for those who complain that a house is beyond their reach, maybe a bungalow that doesn’t cost as much may be a worthwhile option, especially in these straitened times.

It has become noticeable that on the newer estates, more and more houses have their letter boxes screwed shut and a notice in the window instructing the former owners to remove their goods and chattels. The dark angel of repossession is hovering above.

And we could be even more creative. We know there is a need for more social or affordable housing. But rather than just building more new houses which are ‘affordable’, why not enable more people to afford the vacant housing that already exists. It not only helps protect scarce greenfield sites,  but also avoids the creation of ‘council estates’ which so many have a negative perception of (for no reason).

Consett Avenue is the most northerly street in Cleveleys. Beyond it are a stretch of green fields, and then we reach the southern outskirts of Fleetwood. I am sure that I am not alone in hoping that we will never see the day when that stretch of open space becomes part of Thornton-Cleveleys-Fleetwood (as it would probably become known).

If only politicians could sometimes just think outside the box, for just a minute.