Why bother with rural housing?

Ref: Act2006/004

Affordable rural housing development remains an extremely important part of the solution to the UK’s housing needs, leading to stronger and healthier village communities, argued Moira Constable, Chief Executive of the Rural Housing Trust, speaking at the AGM of Cambridge-based Hundred Houses Society on 11 September 2006.

Moira Constable, who has overseen the development of 3,000 houses in 320 villages, challenged the common conception that rural housing developments (typically developments of 6-8 houses in small villages) lead to high management costs. She said:

"The idea that housing management in new village developments is expensive is really a myth. The combined effect of community involvement, existing social and family networks, and local employment of residents means that we typically see lower management costs and far less anti-social behaviour in village schemes than in larger rural developments in market towns."

Moira Constable acknowledged that village housing is more expensive to develop. However, she argued that meeting housing need where that need arises can be extremely effective and brings about ongoing social benefits. She estimated that around 25,000 affordable homes have been built in villages on exception sites since 1990.

The Rural Housing Trust works closely with parish councils to research and promote affordable village housing and is now working with Hundred Houses Society on a new development in the village of Newport, Essex. The Society, working with the Arc Partnership, has been allocated £730,000 by the Housing Corporation that will allow it to take over the ownership and management of 10 new rented houses and flats that meet some of the housing needs of the village. The Rural Housing Trust, will sell on a shared ownership fixed equity basis a further 9 properties. All of the homes will be occupied by households with strong local connections controlled by a Town and Country Planning Act section 106 agreement.


ENDS


Notes to editors


1. Hundred Houses Society manages 720 homes in Cambridge, and is building 160 more in Cambridgeshire and north Essex. More information at www.hhs.org.uk or by contacting Chris Jackson, Chief Executive on 01223 315036

2. Moira Constable has been Chief Executive of the Rural Housing Trust since 1983 and has overseen the development of 3,000 houses in 320 villages. In 1976 she was the newly-formed Trust’s first fieldworker, having published research on tied agricultural accommodation, which helped to inform the drafting of the Rent (Agriculture) Act 1976. She has been involved in the launch of the Government’s Rural Housing Initiative (1988), and drafting of the Rural White Paper (2000), the retention of the rural exceptions policy (campaigned for) and right to buy/shared ownership staircasing (campaigned against). She is also a member of the Policy Council of the Town & Country Planning Association. More at www.ruralhousing.org.uk


3. The Housing Corporation is the government agency responsible for delivering new affordable homes and regulating 1,500 housing associations across England. Its current investment programme of £3.9 billion for 2006-2008 is its biggest ever and is set to provide around 80,000 new affordable homes from housing associations and private developers throughout the country. The Housing Corporation’s website is www.housingcorp.gov.uk.

4. Housing associations are grant funded by the Housing Corporation and raise money by bank and building society loans to buy land to build new homes