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The average rural house price in England is now more than twelve times the average salary of people living in rural areas. In order to obtain a mortgage, a person living and working in the countryside would need to earn £66,000 per year. This affordability gap is pricing children out of the villages they grew up in. It also has grave consequences for the services we rely on, like the local school, shop or pub as a lack of young families means fewer people requiring their services, and makes their existence less viable.
Just a few suitably designed affordable homes in the right location can make a real difference to the viability of village services. Parish Councillors are in an ideal position to influence this.
In January 2011, as the first of a series of planned “study visits”, CPRE Somerset members met with Indra Cotton, Chair of Priddy Parish Council and Vaughan Lake, Development Manager of Hastoe Group to discuss the new affordable homes at Reeves Paddock and how they came about.............
Case Study
Rural Affordable Homes in Priddy, near Wells
Serving the Community
Indra Cotton, Chair of the Parish Council stressed the need for involving the local community when developing schemes like this and to keep talking openly with local people. She also stressed the need to be aware that local needs obviously change over time. As part of the planning conditions for this development, a Section 106 Agreement was developed which insists that the homes are to be occupied by local people with “strong connections” to the village. Planning permission would not be granted unless this Agreement was signed. “Strong connections” in this case means that tenants must have been born here, or brought up there or their parents still live here. Simply working in the village is not enough in this case – whereas in other schemes, this can be a criterion for eligibility.
All the homes were occupied almost immediately by a mixture of families and working couples. Tenants pay rent to Hastoe Group and have regular inspections to ensure that the houses are being maintained at a good standard.
Many thanks to both Priddy Parish Council and Hastoe Group for giving up their time to host this meeting.......
Priddy lies on top of the Mendip Hills above Cheddar Gorge and Wells, about 15 miles equidistant from Bristol and Bath. It is located in the Mendip Hills AONB.
Housing Need in Priddy
Priddy Parish Council first approached Mendip District Council back in 1994 and expressed their wish to address the local housing need which they had identified. Mendip DC confirmed this need and Hastoe worked with the Parish Council and Local Authority to find appropriate sites. Regrettably, none of these sites investigated over the following years could be progressed for various reasons.
In 2004, the Priddy Parish Plan was adopted and this re-enforced the ongoing local housing need and reinvigorated the search for a suitable site. Eventually, a local landowner came forward and a suitable site was purchased and construction was able to start in December 2009.
Design
Of the four houses at Reeves Paddock, there is : 1 two bed house for rent, 2 three bed houses for rent and 1 two bed house for shared ownership.
The houses were designed to reflect the nature of the existing properties within the village and to use local stone to maintain this appearance. The cottage style and street frontage using the stone boundary wall maintains the rural nature in this location and conforms to the requirements set out in the Parish Plan.
The houses were designed with sustainability in mind and achieve the Code for Sustainable Homes – Level 3. The heating and hot water is provided by an air source heat pump which provides a cost effective and efficient energy system for these houses.
The houses are of a timber framed construction with local natural stone facing to the front and side elevation with a rendered rear elevation onto the open countryside beyond.
Cost
Land to be used for affordable housing is sold at a much lower rate than land used for market housing so it is often hard to find a landowner willing to sell. The total cost of this scheme was approximately £550,000 and was assisted by a Social Housing Grant of £255,000.
Want to learn more about affordable homes?
Affordable Rural Housing: A Practical Guide For Parish Councils
The National Housing Federation’s Rural Housing Alliance has developed a guide to help answer some of the frequently asked questions about affordable rural housing and the development process, dispel common misconceptions, and champion the role that parish and town councils play.
To find out how to download a free copy of the guide, click here
Affordable Housing Keeps Villages Alive
Many villages face a challenging future - with local services under threat as people are priced out of rural communities. This joint publication with the Commission for Rural Communities, CRC, ACRE and the Countryside Alliance shows how just a few affordable homes on a suitable site can breathe fresh life into a village and ensure local people can stay in their community, whatever their age or circumstances.
To download a free copy, click here to visit CPRE main website
