Date: 30th June 2021

Subject: Rural Housing

Chair: Kerry Booth Assistant Chief Executive, Rural Services Network

- To download the Agenda for this seminar click here

- To view the welcome message from the RSN click here

- To download the Learning Outcomes from this seminar click here

- To download the zoom chat associated with this seminar click here

- To view the Attendance and Apologies for this seminar click here

Speakers:

• Matthew Dodd, Senior Affordable Housing Strategy Manager - Rural and Community Led, Homes England

  "Homes England and the Delivery of Affordable Rural Housing"

  - Download the presentation here

  ---

• Mary Ridgway, Housing Enabling Officer, Teignbridge District Council

  "Delivery through Partnership – Rural Affordable Housing in Denbury"

  - Download the presentation here

• Martin Collett, Chief Executive, English Rural Housing Association
  
  "Affordable Rural Homes – More Than Bricks"

  - Download the presentation here

  ---

Learning Outcomes:

Examples of Good Practice/Reports/Information

• Award winning Higher Shippen development in Cheriton Bishop.
• Hutton Rudby Affordable Housing Scheme
• Shropshire Council’s Single plot exception site policy delivering 25-30 new homes a year.
• South Hams Discounted Properties Register

Key Learning Points:

Homes England and the Delivery of Affordable Rural Housing

• Rural and community-led housing focus has increased, and Homes England has encouraged the government to look at these areas.
• Homes England is the Government’s housing delivery partner. Need a resilient and diverse housing market and the plan is to build one million homes in this Parliament.
• Homes England Strategic Plan 2018-2023 sets out the vision to respond to the long-term housing challenges.
• The Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 is the newest investment programme with £7.39 bn available from April 2021 with a mixture of homes for rent and different routes into home ownership.
• Capital Funding Guide also includes Right to Shared Ownership.
• New national model for Shared Ownership - Policy Overview - (see Technical Consultation).
• First explicit rural target – minimum 10% of homes to be delivered in rural areas and in settlements with a population of 3,000 or less. Homes England figures show they have built between 8.5% and 13%. According to a recent Guardian newspaper, 17% of the population lives in rural areas.  Important to increase supply of affordable housing to keep communities thriving.
• Total investment in rural homes (2019/20) is £67M. Lots of rural areas eligible for social rent and the South has been the predominant place for delivery of affordable homes.
• Co-ordinated multi-agency response: land & planning; financing and skills & capacity.
• Case Studies – small schemes of different sizes. Choice of different homes, using local firms. See examples of good practice.
• Government looking at the S106 and Exception sites levels. MCHLG needs to engage with rural areas and the First Homes policy and are aware that the definition does not cover some areas.
• Push for Home Ownership from the Secretary of State – government policy

Delivery through Partnership - Rural Affordable Housing in Denbury

• Development on an exception site of 10 affordable homes in a village near Newton Abbot. Took 6 years to complete with many issues to overcome.
• A number of Partners committed to the project but also need a team champion to keep the process going.
• Engagement with the community is key. Need to listen and respond to concerns and understand the housing need.  A community led approach kept the project going.  Devon Communities Together were trusted and independent and supported the Parish Council.
• Landowner is part of the relationship and often live within the community.
• Registered Provider – Willow Tree Housing Partnership retention of local skilled workforce and project management.
• The Local Authority acts as the “middle-man” unlocking problems internally eg planning, interpret LA policy etc.
• Local Builders who resurfaced local car park for community.
• Moving Forward and lesson learnt to improve the process: Teignbridge District Council Housing Strategy 2021-2026 “More than bricks and mortar”
• Need to show that you are genuinely responding.
• South West Housing Association are close to their tenants and showed the community how they would support and give people a voice.
• Need a mix of ages and need to keep young people in communities.
• Sometimes there are difficult conversations and sometimes it doesn’t work.

Affordable Rural Homes – More Than Bricks

• English Rural Housing Association (ERHA) is based in South England. Working in partnership with rural communities to have small affordable schemes.
• Rural homelessness not looked at. Rough sleeping in Cornwall risen by 21%  but not gone down as it has in urban areas.
• 2019 survey on employment status found that there were high levels of employment in rural areas but that many of the jobs were part-time or were in self-employment.
• For almost 60% of those surveyed their average household income was less than £20K
• 58% of households receive no benefits towards the cost of their rent due to high levels of employment.
• Number of households experiencing long term ill-health is a growing trend and shows the changes in demography i.e., ageing population. Important to plan for this challenge and the importance of retaining young people in the community to offer support.
• Smaller numbers in households is another growing trend.
• Heating/Energy efficiency of homes is an issue with many households not on mains gas. New homes are more efficient and starting to look at retrofits with the aim of getting 90% to EPC C by 2025.
• Lockdown has shown the vital work of the “unskilled” workforce and they make up just over 32% of the working-age population in rural areas. Housing costs are often higher in rural areas compared to nearby urban areas and the wages are lower.
• Joint research by RSN, CPRE and ERHA into economic and fiscal case for investing in rural affordable housing undertaken by Pragmatix. Summary and Full report available on the link above.
• Insecurity of employment has meant that some are pushed into home ownership at low level but with huge responsibilities.
• #CommunityisWhy on Twitter

Any Other Key Outcomes from the Seminar

Affordable housing is at the heart of all the issues discussed. Need policies that are right for rural areas and not bolt-ons for urban centric policies that have unintended consequences. Need a mixture of tenures for affordable housing to rent as well as to buy.

RSN’s Revitalising Rural Campaign Specific Policy Asks of the Government is for fairer distribution of national resources to rural areas and more nuanced national policies.  There are 14 Chapters in the campaign; and one looks at Availability of Rural Affordable Housing and another at Rural Planning.

As new Government strategies are announced, RSN puts them through a “Rural Lens Review” which adds depth and texture to the Policy Asks. A fresh crosscut of the Revitalising document being worked on will look in more depth at younger and older people, working age families and businesses (includes agri.). It will also look at the impact of various issues on these groups of people and develop case studies (personal experiences) rather than dry policy discussions.

Jo Lavis, Housing Specialist – Briefing Note: Rural Implications of the Government’s response to Changes to the Planning System and the new Shared Ownership model

RSN Spotlight on Rural Housing – July 2021 in partnership with the Rural Housing Alliance.  A quarterly bulletin highlighting current rural housing issues and opportunities.

Rural Housing Alliance launched the Parish Guide to Affordable Rural Housing in July 2021 working in partnership with RSN and National Housing Federation (NHF).

Analysis and Commentary pieces for Rural Services Network by Jessica Sellick, Researcher at Rose Regeneration: Finding a place to call "home": what more can be done to plug the rural housing gap?

RSN Member Insights produced by Dan Worth, Research & Performance Analyst, RSN.  Please click on the link to access the Housing Insights.

Attendance and Apologies

Attendance:

Apologies: