A couple of years ago, former 'Deputy' Prime Minister, the comical John Prescott, infamously proposed building 3 million homes to solve the country's housing shortage. Since then, the number of houses built each year is less than half that achieved under the last Conservative government.

Of course the recession has taken its toll since then, with housebuilding particularly hard hit. But market realities show how the centralised command economy, beloved of Mr Prescott, does not work.

New mechanisms are needed to unlock the increasing need for housing. I am especially concerned about this in rural areas where few parents can afford to bring up families where they themselves were raised.

Some people have trumpeted the apparent success of the pre-2007 LibDem administration at the former South Shropshire District Council in developing policies to encourage development of Affordable Housing in the district.

But the reality is that much of this has unravelled since introduced. The original £60,000 per dwelling tax for a planning consent, which was hoped would fund the scheme, was paid by only one applicant. So it was wisely cut by the Conservative administration from 2007.

Then the recession struck. One constituent's case brought to my attention this month involved a shared equity property, repossessed by the bank and now being sold at open market value. So much for 'affordable housing' in perpetuity.

More locally based schemes are needed. I attended the Bishop's Castle Community Land Trust annual meeting this month and was very impressed by the progress being made to deliver small scale affordable housing with community support.

Plans for Local Housing Trusts developed by Conservatives have great potential to develop this idea and unlock more much needed housing in local communities.

The key difference is that local people will decide how many houses can be built and where - rather than have housing targets dumped on local communities from some unaccountable regional body based, in our case, in Birmingham.