HOUSING chiefs in the Vale of Evesham have welcomed new rules which are likely to tax landowners if they are given planning permission to build homes on their land.

The new rules would make it less profitable to sell their land for development and so owners are considering selling sites, even those that might not be earmarked for housing, before any new tax comes into force.

Evesham-based Rooftop Housing Group, one of the region's largest developers of rural housing, is keen to build much-needed new homes in the area to help tackle the housing crisis caused by rapidly rising house prices.

Mary Aston, development director at RHG, said: "We are experts at developing land for affordable social housing. Planning regulations often allow us to develop this sort of accommodation even where private houses would not be allowed."

She explained: "Our developments are designed from start to finish with local people in mind. That means the homes are appropriately designed, considerate to the community and answer an urgent need."

Working with Rooftop, she said, had enabled many local landowners to maximise the value of their land with the minimum of difficulty.