RURAL HOUSING CRISIS FORCES UNPRECEDENTED ALLIANCE

25 July 2006

As house prices in some rural areas reach almost ten times local earnings, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) [1] and the National Housing Federation [2] have joined together to call on the Government to address this crisis urgently.

CPRE, which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England, and the National Housing Federation, which represents 1,400 housing associations in England that provide two million homes for five million people, have today (Tuesday) published a joint Charter: Protect Rural England: Build an Affordable Home.

The full Charter Protect Rural England: Build an Affordable Home is at the end of this news release.

CPRE Chief Executive Shaun Spiers said:

‘People may be surprised by this unexpected alliance but it has been brought about by an urgent need to address the rural housing crisis. We have set out the key steps we believe could help provide the homes that are so desperately needed in rural areas.

‘The Affordable Rural Housing Commission [3] that reported in May offered the Government real solutions to this worsening situation. So far we have had little response from Government.’

David Orr, Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation, said:

‘Unless we act now, we will create a rural theme park, where only the very wealthy can live, with small pockets of communities living in real hardship. To have a dynamic rural economy, we need homes and jobs in our villages and hamlets.

‘The Comprehensive Spending Review and the impending review of the role of social housing is an opportunity for the Government to make a real difference to the future of England’s countryside.

‘There’s an urgent need to increase the provision of affordable housing in villages and rural towns. Many people who play an important role in rural communities cannot afford to live in them. Sustainable rural communities require a range of housing to meet a range of needs in order to thrive, prosper and adapt to change.’

Mr Spiers and Mr Orr jointly declared:

‘If Government creates the right conditions then housing associations and CPRE local branches can work together in market towns and villages across England to develop well designed, appropriately sited affordable homes to meet local needs.

‘Together our organisations are ready to help find the solutions needed to make sure rural England remains a vibrant, sustainable place to live. And not somewhere where our young people are forced to move away, leaving many places in rural England as simply dormitories for commuters and second home owners.’

The National Housing Federation and CPRE are calling on Government to:

· publish a clear timetable outlining how they propose to respond to the Rural Housing Commission’s findings;

· ensure that rural housing is recognised explicitly in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review;

· ensure that Professor John Hills’s review of social housing includes rural housing as an explicit part of its brief; and

· require any new body created by the proposed merger of English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation to have a specific rural housing remit, reflected in its funding priorities.

Protect Rural England: Build an Affordable Home sets out the steps needed to increase supply of affordable rural housing.

1. More public investment in affordable rural housing.

2. More effective planning so that local council planners provide enough sites with planning permissions.

3. Secure mixed communities in thriving rural settlements with a range of house types and a range of residents living close to flourishing businesses, so that people don’t have to commute long distances.

4. Better use of existing buildings – affordable housing supply could be increased through a targeted programme to reduce empty property in rural areas, reducing VAT on refurbishment work from 17.5% to the 5% level applied to new build.

5. Build to high environmental and design standards, so that new rural homes – be they private sector or affordable – enhance rural communities and contribute to protecting the environment as well as keeping down running costs.

6. Restraint on the Right to Buy in rural areas of acute housing pressure, with equity shares considered as an alternative.

7. Ensuring enough social rented homes are built – the Affordable Rural Housing Commission suggests there is a need for 7,600 social rented homes a year in rural areas, as well as an increase in low cost home ownership.

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