In a dismal night we had an enjoyable public meeting on the problems facing rural housing. Thank you to our guests;

* Jo Lavis – Rural housing expert from the Labour Housing Group
* Jonathan Roberts – Director of External Affairs, Country Land & Business Association
* Robert Widdowson – Council for the Protection of Rural England
* Cllr Liz Harvey – Herefordshire Councillor (acting in a personal capacity as a previous cabinet member with responsibility for planning)

And to Nick Comley for chairing the event magnificently.

To summarise here are some of the key points that were discussed about the problems of rural housing:

– There is a lack of affordable housing in rural areas, with high demand and long waiting lists. Rural communities often have little or no social/affordable housing stock.

– High house prices and lower local incomes mean rural housing is unaffordable for many who live and work in rural areas. Those who can’t buy or rent are forced into substandard or unsuitable housing.

– We must be able to develop small schemes i.e. below 10 in villages. e.g. 2 or 3 in each village tailored to meet local need for local workers.

– There is a need to develop housing for older people to free up under occupied properties .

– Rural areas are seeing an increase in homelessness as housing becomes less affordable. Homeless figures are rising faster in rural versus urban areas.

– The supply of affordable rural housing is declining, with fewer rural exception sites being built. Only 548 affordable homes were built on rural exception sites last year.

– People living in rural areas want to remain in their communities near family, jobs etc. But lack of affordable housing forces them to move away.

– Small rural housing developments can help sustain rural communities by providing homes for local workers and families. But planning policy often restricts such developments.

– Developers favor large, high-priced developments which are out of reach for most local residents. They provide little affordable or social housing.

– Government policies, funding and targets tend to overlook rural areas and focus on urban development.

– Solutions require policies tailored to rural areas, incentives for landowners to provide affordable sites, more social housing built by councils, and greater investment in rural affordable housing.

In summary, the lack of affordable rural housing is forcing local workers and families out of their communities and threatening the sustainability of rural life. National policies and incentives are needed to increase the supply of affordable homes in rural areas.