Independent Housing Needs Surveys

Cambridgeshire ACRE runs programmes of work in both Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that support the building of affordable homes on rural exception sites. These sites have conditions attached which state that the homes built must remain affordable and for local people in perpetuity.

Any planning application for exception site development must be supported by evidence of need and the best way to do this is to undertake a detailed survey to ensure that development is based on accurate, up to date information on local housing needs.

Housing Needs Survey should ideally be performed independently and Cambridgeshire ACRE offers this service. The value of a Housing Needs Survey is that the report will identify households in need of affordable housing locally that are not on the Housing Register, as well as those that are.

As well as this, a Housing Needs Survey report identifies the following:

• The type of affordable housing required by local people (house, bungalow etc)
• The tenure of affordable housing required by local people (social rent, shared ownership etc)
• The size of affordable housing required by local people (2, 3 bedroom, etc)
• Whether there is local support from parishioners for a small affordable housing development for local people.

Parish Councils who believe their village might benefit from a small development of affordable homes for local people are encouraged to approach Cambridgeshire ACRE for advice.

Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) operating in the county, charities and individual parishes are also able to request that Cambridgeshire ACRE performs an independent Housing Needs Survey on their behalf.

Cost: Housing Needs Survey are free to those parishes taking part in Cambridgeshire ACRE’s programmes of work. Anyone else requiring a survey should contact us regarding costs.
Contact: Alison Brown on 01353 865029 or email: alison.brown@cambsacre.org.uk