03 October 2008
Housing waiting lists in rural areas are rising by almost 15,000 per month while a major review of the countryside gathers dust in Whitehall, two leading pressure groups claimed this week.
Ministers have still not responded to the wide-ranging study of rural communities, undertaken for Prime Minister Gordon Brown by Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor, although it was published in July.
According to the Campaign to Protect Rural England and the National Housing Federation, the government must indicate whether it backs Taylor's report, which recommended a shake-up of planning rules and a range of other initiatives.
The groups' report – Save rural England, build affordable homes, published on September 29 – showed an average of 14,494 people join local authority housing registers in rural areas each month.
The total number waiting for homes rose by 37% to 695,735 between 2003 and last year. While an extra 10% funding was allocated to affordable rural housing in 2008/11, the countryside is getting a smaller share than before because the overall National Affordable Housing Programme increased by 30%, the report said. It called for the next Comprehensive Spending Review to commit a larger share to rural areas.
The report added that councils should set 'ambitious but achievable' targets for new homes and make more use of empty dwelling management orders to bring properties back into use. It also advocated further restrictions on the right to buy, with equity shares and shared ownership used as an alternative.
The chief executive of the NHF, David Orr, said that villages were in danger of becoming 'the preserve of the rich, and weekend playgrounds for second-home owners'.
'The rural housing crisis is intensifying rapidly, with more and more people being priced out of the market and having to live in cramped and unsuitable conditions,' he added.
CPRE chief executive Shaun Spiers added: 'Unless action is taken now to provide the affordable homes we need, the future looks bleak.'
This week's report is the second time that the CPRE and NHF have joined forces on rural issues. Two years ago, they campaigned together after recommendations made by the Affordable Rural Housing Commission were largely ignored by the government.
A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: 'We agree it's simply not fair that people in rural communities struggle to afford a place of their own. We have already changed the planning rules, are helping landowners to establish community land trusts and ensuring councils deliver the sustainable homes their communities need.'
PFoct2008
