Villages to offer affordable homes

In a bid to stop villages dying, the Government has signalled that it will allow councils to push through developments of badly-needed homes.

The shake-up follows the publication of a landmark study yesterday which warned that English villages are in danger of becoming exclusive enclaves of the elderly and wealthy.

It found that the average wage in rural areas is £20,895 — £4,655 lower than urban areas — yet the average house price is £8,000 higher.

As a result, only 17 per cent of purchases in rural England are made by first-time buyers, compared with 33 per cent in urban areas.

The Government immediately hinted it would accept the report’s central recommendation that rural planning restrictions should be eased to encourage both more affordable homes and businesses.

Housing Minister Caroline Flint went further, making it clear that the so-called Nimbys — campaigners who loudly proclaim not in my back yard — would not be allowed to stand in the way.

She said: “It is not fair that people in rural communities struggle to afford a place of their own.

“I am determined that we do everything we can do to further help people in rural communities into home ownership, by ensuring councils provide the sustainable homes their communities need.

“Whenever you discuss housing development it’s incredibly emotive, but I think it is about laying the facts out there about the reality of life.

“Not just how it is today, but the reality of life tomorrow as well if we don’t address these issues, which actually might not be the picture-book postcard that some people seem to view that rural life is all about.”

Yesterday’s report, by Lib-Dem MP Matthew Taylor — at the request of Gordon Brown — criticises bland housing estates crammed on to the edge of towns.

But, in a plea for planning rules to better reflect social factors, Mr Taylor warns: “We are at a crossroads for the countryside.

“Only a handful of well-designed homes, kept affordable in perpetuity, will make all the difference to the sustainability of a village and its services.”

Campaign to Protect Rural England praised the study as refreshing.