Last week South Shropshire District Council took its first step to introduce a moratorium on building new houses. Some exceptions remain, such as building for agricultural workers but most people seeking to buy or build a new house in South Shropshire are unlikely now to be able to do so.

But wait a minute, surely we have a housing shortage in Shropshire, especially of Affordable Homes? Indeed we do. Thanks to this policy, however, it is likely to get worse. With less supply and continued strong demand in South Shropshire, prices are likely to go even higher. This will inevitably make it even more difficult for those trying to start out on the housing ladder.

Limits on the number of new houses which can be approved in South Shropshire are close to being reached. Partly because the local authority has allowed more houses to be built over the past 10 years than permitted.

Mr Prescott says he wants to accelerate the amount of new housing built in this country, but he wants unaccountable regional bodies to determine where it goes.

I do not advocate a free-for-all in rural areas, but I do believe the local council is better placed than some regional body to decide housing numbers within its area. This is another example of creeping regionalisation by the back door.

It is time to face this head-on. I argued South Shropshire should carry on business as usual until it reaches the housing limit and then argue its strong case for more. My offer to help do this still stands. But meanwhile South Shropshire residents will have to get used to hardly any new houses.