Don’t forget rural housing, says CLA

CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn

The CLA is urging the Government to ensure rural areas aren’t left behind following anticipated announcements of new plans to target all new house building on brownfield sites.

In advance of the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, the CLA says that appropriate and sustainable building in villages could potentially deliver up to 200,000 much-needed new homes that would allow more people to live and work in rural areas.

CLA North Regional Director Dorothy Fairburn said: “Ensuring that villages remain sustainable is vital if the countryside is to play its part in tackling the housing crisis and contribute to economic growth.”

The CLA says that with an estimated 19,000 villages in the country it would take an average of just 10 new homes per village to deliver almost 200,000 new homes.

Miss Fairburn added: “Small additions to villages would deliver massive benefits to older people needing to down size, self builders, young families, renters, rural economy workers and crucially, the village itself.

“In villages with more than 650 households, local authorities are increasingly refusing to make housing allocations when an additional 20 homes would represent a mere three percent rise in the total.

“Rather than focussing entirely on brownfield sites, the Government should be working to ensure that farmers and landowners are empowered to deliver housing solutions that support the needs and long term sustainability of rural communities.”