Solving the housing crisis in the countryside is achievable – says the
Affordable Rural Housing Commission in its final report to Government
Rural communities need a major increase in subsidised housing, if the next generation is
not to be priced out of the countryside, according to the independent Affordable Rural
Housing Commission (ARHC)¹ in its report to Government launched today (Wed 17 May).
It sets out practical actions that should be taken forward across all levels of government, the
voluntary and private sectors, if this much-needed affordable housing is to be built. Without
such action, the Commission warns, rural communities are being undermined as many
people on lower, and even average, incomes are leaving the countryside to find a home
they can afford.
The 12-member Commission² has concluded that a minimum of 11,000 affordable houses
are needed a year in market towns and villages to meet identified need – as part of an
approach that allows these communities to evolve and provide homes for people from all
walks of life. In addition, it says there needs to be some private development, both to
provide the first rung on the property ladder and to generate cross subsidy to help pay for
the extra affordable housing.
It calls on the Government to provide more public funding for
rural housing, and to give the countryside a fair share of resources. And it urges, as
importantly, that regional and local planners, and rural communities themselves, should
actively encourage well-designed affordable housing as part of mainstream planning policy.
The Commission was set up last July, in response to widespread concern about the
implications for rural communities in England of a shortage of affordable housing to rent or
buy, to come up with practical solutions that would improve access to affordable housing for
those who live and work in rural areas.
Elinor Goodman, chair of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission, said: “If we don’t
act now, more and more people will be priced out of the countryside – leaving rural
communities to increasingly become dormitories for the better off and places where people
go to retire or for the weekend. This, in turn, will undermine the social fabric of rural life.
“Our investigation has shown us that much good work is already being done. We’ve seen
how affordable housing can improve the overall quality of a village and underpin its future.
But, to meet the scale of housing need in rural communities in all regions, we recommend
that 11,000 affordable homes need to be built – that’s equivalent to around six new houses
a year in each rural ward in England.
“Villages and country towns must be allowed to evolve in the way they did in the past –
they can’t just be preserved in aspic. Most can probably absorb some more houses, as
long as they are in scale and character and maintain the identity of individual communities.
We are not advocating a laissez-faire approach, but using the planning system more
effectively to identify and address rural needs, rather than treating them as an add-on after
urban needs are met.
“People have been aware of this shortage for years but never before has there been so
much evidence of the scale of it, and its impact on rural life. Since we were set up, the
Government has announced changes to the planning system, which go some way to
addressing the points made to us during our inquiry. What is needed now is for all those
involved to embrace these changes and give rural housing the priority it deserves. “
Elinor Goodman continued: “We have also looked at the issue of second homes and
concluded that they are not a major problem across the country. But, they are a matter of
real concern in some communities, where there is a disproportionately high number, and we
recommend ways of mitigating their impact locally. The need for rented and low cost
homes is spread throughout rural England and the main solution is to provide more
affordable housing.�
The Affordable Rural Housing Commission Report 2006 outlines four key elements to
solving the problem: positive planning, ensuring a supply of sites, better finance and
improved leadership. Key recommendations include:
• a fundamental change in the way the need for affordable housing is addressed in
rural areas – so that it is delivered through a plan-led approach as part of
mainstream policy in regional and local spatial strategies;
• better use of planning tools available to generate more cross subsidy from open
market development to social rented and low cost home ownership;
• ensuring that planners take account of the social needs of communities alongside
the need to protect the environment;
• an increase in public funding, as part of a fairer distribution of resources for housing
in rural areas;
• better funding for more Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) to work with planners,
developers, landowners, housing associations and parish councils to ascertain local
housing need and locate appropriate sites;
• providing training and support for local authorities so they are equipped to gain the
affordable housing they need through high quality, well designed development;
• asking Government to explore various proposals to stem the negative impact
second home ownership can have on viable communities in specific honey pot
areas, including asking the Lyons review of local government to consider whether a
‘local impact tax’ could be levied, and introducing a Planning Use Class Order;
• restrictions and changes to Right to Buy and Right to Acquire in more rural areas –
to ensure that subsidised homes remain in the affordable sector in perpetuity;
• placing greater emphasis on the economic and social duty of National Park
Authorities to encourage the provision of affordable rural housing;
• encouraging a better supply of sites through new models for delivering affordable
housing, a new approach which brings together public land with funding and those
able to build such homes, and further investigation of possible changes to the tax
system;
• clearer guidance to speed up the release of brownfield land owned by public
authorities for affordable housing.
A copy of the full Affordable Rural Housing Report 2006 or summary is available to
download from www.defra.gov.uk/rural/housing/commission, by email at
Enquiries.ahrc@defra.gsi.gov.uk
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