The Rural Affordable Housing Partnership for Cambridgeshire met on Tuesday 18th Jan 2022 for their quarterly review. The partnership is a mix of council representatives and housing associations that have been brought together by Cambridgeshire ACRE. They are committed to increasing affordable housing in our rural communities and working together to source sites and gain planning consent to improve provision throughout the county.
Over the last 8 years, Cambridgeshire ACRE have helped bring forward almost 400 affordable homes and over 30 schemes. 5 further schemes are due to be completed over the 2021/22 financial year.
The main points under discussion in the review were the recovery from the global effects of COVID-19 and the impact of the new directive from government concerning First Homes (new scheme designed to help first-time buyers).
COVID-19 Impact on Housing
COVID-19 has repeatedly proved to cause a huge impact on nearly every sector, including Housing. It’s had a huge impact on the activities of Parish Councils over the last two years. But, there are significant signs that activity is increasing and the industry is beginning to pick up to pre-COVID levels.
Construction material and general building costs in the UK continue to rise, reaching a 40-year high based on the annual growth of the BCIS Materials Cost Index (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors). The increasing global demand in the construction sector, combined with pandemic and logistic issues have resulted in shortages, delays and ultimately increased prices of material and labour across the economy. The Building Cost Information Service Lead Consultant, Joe Martin, has stated: “The pressure on materials prices and availability is expected to continue at least until the end of 2022. Labour shortages are expected to evolve as the significant driver for overall construction cost increases next year”. (RICS)
First Homes Scheme
First Homes is having a small impact on Housing currently but as of 28 December 2021, housing developments will be required to provide First Homes as part of any Affordable Housing contribution. Partners will be monitoring any changes in planning guidance carefully, but in the long term we are looking forward to seeing more on the map.
Moving Forward
The partners outlined many important plans for 2022 and beyond. There were talks of an in-person event in the summer months, as well as online events throughout the year to highlight the issue of Rural Affordable Housing and the work the partnership does to help with this. Re-engagement with Parish Councils is another point moving forward – meeting with Parish Councils on a stronger basis will help scope out potential developments and ultimately help rural areas meet their housing needs. This will benefit the community as a whole; post-COVID, lots of housing in rural areas proved to be unfit for purpose as lifestyles and routines changed during the pandemic.
If you’d like to learn more about our housing projects, click here.
Click here to make sure you’re following us on social media. You’ll be able to stay up-to-date with all our latest information, including upcoming events and key dates.
