The first Bridport Housing Fair has been a success and an "important step in local attempts to create a fairer and more affordable housing system".

The event - as part of Bridport Housing Week, which aimed to identify and set in motion community-led solutions to provide energy efficient, genuinely affordable homes - has been praised by Bridport mayor, councillor Ian Bark.

He said: "A roof over your head is something which in the 21st century, everyone should have access to. But sadly, for many local people, achieving this is a daily struggle. They can barely afford to put a roof over their heads because they are trapped in a low wage economy.

"The housing fair, organised by our very own new community land trust (CLT) - called Bridport Area Housing, or BACH for short - is focused on exploring and finding solutions and opportunities for the future and, most importantly, coming together as a community to sort the problem out for ourselves."

The fair included representatives from existing community and non-profit housing organisations, such as Symene CLT, Bridport Cohousing and Magna Housing Association. There were also demonstrations of new sustainable approaches to housing construction from the Raise the Roof partnership - which aims to demonstrate the ecological and social potential of creating new homes and work spaces - and Architectural Association students from Hooke Park.

Phyllida Culpin, a board member of Bridport Area Community Housing, was pleased that the fair, and other events during the first Bridport Housing week "achieved the aim of reinforcing the need for community-led solutions and showcasing examples of successful community-led projects and innovative thinking".

She said: "Last Saturday's housing fair served as a platform for providing valuable information to those in housing need and to those interested in rising to the challenge of finding new solutions.

"We are now looking for small sites in the Bridport area to create affordable housing. We are particularly interested in supporting initiatives that are co-designed and self-built by the people who will live in the homes, using modern, off-site construction techniques."

For more information, visit bridportach.org.uk

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