Rural housing crisis ideas discussed at Conservative conference

The need for affordable housing in rural areas is something every party agrees on.

Schools, pubs and shops are closing in villages and younger people are being forced to move out because they cannot buy a home in the place they grew up.

A study from English Rural, a not-for-profit housing association with homes in 140 villages, including in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hampshire, found the average rural house price was about 16 times average rural earnings.

One idea discussed at a fringe meeting at the Conservative conference in Birmingham was for every village to build at least 10 to 15 new homes.

The Conservative group leader on Wiltshire council, Richard Clewer, said it would enable affordable housing to be built without overwhelming villages.

“If every settlement, every parish sees some growth, in some as few as 10 to 15 houses, it meets a chunk of housing demand nationally,” he said.

“It makes villages more sustainable and viable and, even if it’s uncomfortable for some, it’s not huge, it will rapidly blend in.”

The idea was featured in Wiltshire’s local plan, which was scrapped in May because it did not allocate enough land for housing.