Genuine community involvement must be at the heart of rural housing development

I've long thought the housing crisis is the biggest challenge facing the UK.

Shelter is a basic human need. But far too often people cannot afford decent homes, lack security of tenure or are simply spending most of their pay packet on keeping a roof over their head. Not only does this fundamentally compromise the wellbeing of individuals, it's also having an impact on local communities and the wider economy. In rural areas, a scarcity of good homes decides who can live and work locally, and the viability of local businesses and services.

So it frustrates me when people say rural communities don’t want new housing. Or that rural communities aren’t suitable for development. Whilst there may be some truth to it, such views are likely rooted in previous experiences – of large amorphous estates foisted on existing settlements, or communities held in aspic where infrastructure has been left to rot and shops, pubs and schools closed.

There’s a need to move away from this all or nothing cul-de-sac. The experience of ACRE Network members is that rural communities can, and do want to have a say over the future of their area. Rising to the rural housing challenge isn’t conceivable without genuine community involvement. From Parish Plans to Neighbourhood Plans and Community Land Trusts, there’s a rich heritage of people researching, discussing and delivering small scale housing schemes that meet local needs, are well designed and prioritise affordable homes.

The Rural Housing Enabler programme funded by Defra has helped kick start community-led activity again. But the scale and reach of the programme is nowhere near ambitious enough.

At WERN we’re trying to do our bit to bolster support for rural communities across the West of England to address local housing needs.

As part of #RuralHousingWeek we’re encouraging people to sign up to two events to learn about the support we can provide to help groups to evidence local housing need and work with local residents, landowners, developers and planners to secure small scale developments. And on 17 July, we’re hosting another ‘Rural Roundtable’ that will engage leaders of public and VCSE organisations in a conversation about what more can be done to improve both the supply and quality of homes in rural parts of the region.