Affordable Rural Housing
There is a shortage of affordable housing in rural areas, which impacts on the opportunities and choices for local people. Without a range of suitable properties within a village it is difficult to encourage sustainable communities and maintain a vibrant, living countryside as people may have to move away to find housing they can afford.
Developing affordable housing is therefore one of the crucial issues that influences the economic and social strength of rural communities, and is a major contributor to long-term community sustainability.
Affordable rural housing is:
- built with a subsidy by a Residential Social Landlord (Housing Association) and made available for rent or shared ownership,
- allocated (in priority) to households with a local connection to a village,
- kept affordable for local people in perpetuity.
Cambridgeshire ACRE:
- Raises awareness of issues surrounding affordable housing with local communities,
- Works with landowners and parish councils to identify potential sites for development,
- Liaises with local authorities and Residential Social Landlords to ensure development is targeted to the areas of greatest need.
To discuss how your community could benefit from a small development of affordable rural housing, please contact Mark Deas on 01353 865035.
Do you own land that might be suitable for an affordable housing development? If so, please read our 'Call for land', available to download from the Resources and Downloads section.
The National Housing Federation published a report in July 2010 on how affordable rural housing helps keep villages alive. You can download a copy from the Resources and Downloads section.