A training day for all CAB advisors around the district was held at the United Reformed Church Hall in Petersfield on Friday, where advisors were informed of the scale of the demand for accommodation.

There are currently 3,673 applications for social housing, while only 350 have been offered accommodation.

Around 90 per cent of people applying each year cannot be housed, and in some cases people are having to wait two years or more.

East Hampshire Citizens Advice Bureau manager Amanda Whitehead Smith said: "I think our advisors were most surprised at the shortage of available social housing. What we are talking about here is a waiting list of about 3,000 people, which is 100 times more demand than there are properties available here.

"I don't think our advisors had quite allowed for how short of suitable accommodation we are."

Volunteers working at the newly merged bureaux of Alton, Whitehill and Bordon and Petersfield came together for the training day, where they were given useful advice and tips to help them with their everyday role.

Amanda said: "I think it was a really valuable day for our advisors.
"The emphasis of the event was to improve advice skills in respect of housing issues, and the training was attended by 50 volunteer advisers from across the East Hampshire district.
"The second half of the day focused on raising awareness of the complex issues surrounding homelessness and the promotion of a local initiative to support homeless people in our area."

The training day had the support of the National Homelessness Advice Service (NHAS), which is a joint initiative between Shelter and Citizens Advice Bureau, and district judge Peter Jolly, who delivered an address during the afternoon on issues surrounding homelessness from the perspective of the judiciary.

Amanda said: "It was about training for the consultations and calls and building their confidence.
"The day generally gave them the encouragement they needed to put something in to oppose the courts over evicted tenants.
"It helped our advisors realise what people can do too from a judiciary point of view to keep people in their homes."

At the end of the day advisors were given an hour to quiz a panel of experts, which included judge Peter Jolly, Mike Sartin of refuge charity Stone Pillow, Susanne McClure from the National Housing Advisory Service and East Hampshire District Council's portfolio holder for housing and climate change Elizabeth Cartwright.

She told the audience that the district council had made 260 new affordable homes available for people in need over the past year, when its target had been 140 homes.

"When you think that every village needs to find a piece of land for eight to 10 houses which has been designated for housing, it is difficult," she said.

Cllr Cartwright added another difficulty the council faced was nimbyism, in particular public opposition to new housing being built in rural areas, ruining their countryside views.

She felt it was critical that young people with strong links to a village should be able to live there, otherwise they move away and the rural area suffers.

Other proposals discussed were calls for safehouses and refuges to be made available around the district for people in immediate need, a lodging scheme to help young people find accommodation when they have "irrevocably" fallen out with their parents and what should be done with empty private properties.