Why do rural communities need
affordable homes?
Rural communities face a unique combination
of housing pressures;
- The inward migration of commuters, retirees
and owners of second homes has contributed significantly to
demand-led house price inflation.
- The ‘Right to Buy’ council houses has
had a greater impact in reducing the stock of affordable
housing in rural areas than it has in urban areas... and fewer new
affordable homes have been built to replace those sold.
- In rural areas there are usually high
land prices and because of planning controls there is a lack of
development land to build new affordable homes.
- The types of development which gain planning
permission in rural areas also tend to be small in scale and not
subject to developer contributions or conditions to provide
affordable homes.
In many places, it has become impossible for
people on lower and moderate incomes to afford to remain in a
village or to move there to take up work. Those in lower paid
employment tend to move within their local areas (about 75%) but
they cannot afford to do so without suitable housing being made
available.
The consequence of this is that the rural population is ageing
with a very low number of people in the age group where new
households typically emerge (18-29). The housing market is failing
to provide opportunities for this group to either remain or take up
residency in rural communities because of the poor supply of both
suitable lower cost and affordable housing. In 2006-2007 across
Leicestershire just 13 rural properties came onto the housing
markets that were affordable to local people with lower quartile
earnings. In addition to this there is a lower level of existing
affordable housing in the rural areas compounded by low
turnover.
An affordable housing scheme can make a huge
contribution to a village or parish, by:
- meeting the housing needs of local
people
- maintaining the viability of amenities in the
parish e.g. the local school
- supporting social mix and networks in the
parish
- supporting the local economy by allowing
staff to afford to live locally
Housing needs across Leicester and
Leicestershire were investigated as part of a Strategic Housing
Market Assessment. This study looked at the rural housing market in
Leicestershire and the need for affordable housing. It found there
to a very high need for more rural affordable housing across
Leicestershire but particularly within the Melton area.
The Council in partnership with parish
council’s and the Rural Housing Enabler works to increase the
supply of rural affordable housing. For more information, click on
one of the links below;
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