Flint "determined" to help affordable rural homes » Housing » 24dash.com

It is "simply not fair" that people in rural communities are struggling to afford a home, housing minister Caroline Flint said today.

An "exodus" of young people towards towns and an occasional "vacuum" of leadership were both affecting the countryside, Ms Flint said.

And she warned they were challenges that needed to be faced in order to retain the "picture-book postcard" of rural life.

Ms Flint was responding to the publication of a review which said countryside communities risked being destroyed by the huge gulf between property prices and local incomes.

The study, carried out by Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said villages would become "exclusive enclaves of the elderly and wealthy" unless planning restrictions were eased to allow more affordable housing.

Unveiling the report, Mr Taylor called for the support of a "new rural economy" as he highlighted that wages for people working in rural communities were now GBP4,655 lower than the national average, while first-time buyer homes cost GBP16,000 more.

It now takes a higher proportion of average income to service a mortgage in the South West than in London.

Mr Taylor urged strictly-controlled housing development in rural areas to create more affordable homes, with the caveat that they were sold to local workers.

"Endless bland housing estates crammed on to the edge of towns are often unattractive, they fail to deliver local services, shops or open spaces," he said.

"The residents end up driving into town for everything they need, clogging up the roads. No wonder local people so often oppose them."

Instead, Mr Taylor said, the aim should be to create "places we can live, work and play, rather than just sleep the night before driving into town the next day".

He went on: "We are at a crossroads for the countryside. We can continue to let too many villages become exclusive enclaves of the elderly and wealthy, and market towns be ringed with endless housing estates - or we can create attractive communities in which people want and can afford to live."

Ms Flint welcomed the report as a "considered look... into some very complex and long term challenges".

She said the Government would look closely at its proposals and publish a more detailed response in due course.

"It's simply not fair that people in rural communities struggle to afford a place of their own," Ms Flint said.

"I am determined that we do everything we can do to further help people in rural communities into home ownership, by for example helping landowners to establish community land trusts and by ensuring councils deliver the sustainable homes their communities need."

She added: "This is a considered look, this report, into some very complex and long-term challenges.

"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 if we don't address these issues the reality of life tomorrow as well, which actually might not be the picture-book postcard that some people seem to view that rural life is all about."

Rural affairs minister Jonathan Shaw also welcomed the report, saying:
"Everyone should have the chance of a decent home at a price they can afford in a place they want to live and work in, and that goes for rural people too."

In the report, Mr Taylor urged planning restrictions on second homes in Britain's national parks so councils could effectively ensure houses were lived in full-time.

But officials said the Government was "yet to be convinced" that such a restriction would either be workable or provide the intended benefits.

Campaign groups broadly welcomed the study.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said:
"The Taylor Review sets out how to revive England's villages as sustainable places in which to live and work - and the onus is now on the Government to enact its recommendations.

"Matthew Taylor shows how villages can be living, breathing entities, instead of fusty museum pieces that are the preserve of the rich and elderly.

"The report must not be allowed to gather dust on ministerial shelves.
Its recommendations must be rolled out as quickly as possible.

"Unless the Government enacts Matthew Taylor's recommendations quickly, many villages will die, others will become dormitories of the rich, while others will simply become poor - as economic activity is steadily squeezed out.

"Ministers must act now to prevent even more families being priced out of our villages, leaving them to become virtual ghettos of the very rich and elderly."

Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart said: "This is an unsustainable situation, and the answer is to ensure that the countryside, which is one of our greatest national assets, does not become an exclusive enclave, but is developed with inclusive, community-minded values at heart.

"This means being bold - not being terrified of building on green fields, cutting VAT on building work and renovations and, crucially, working with local authorities, farmers and landowners to ensure that all suitable land is considered for the development of affordable units."