Local authorities in England are continuing to ignore ways to deliver much needed affordable homes for local people in rural areas but could be more effective in helping to solve the housing crisis in the countryside, it is suggested.
New Government data shows that despite a 9% increase in affordable homes built in small rural communities across England, only 51 more than the previous year were built on rural exception sites, farmland not usually granted planning permission but used for affordable housing developments.
The Country Landowners Association (CLA), which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses welcomed the overall increase but said local councils across England could use these sites more effectively to help solve the rural housing crisis.
‘Housing need is widespread throughout rural England. The increase in the total number of affordable homes being built is encouraging, however, large discrepancies between local authorities mean that certain councils are doing more than others. Cornwall Council leads the way yet again but others lag quite dramatically behind,’ said CLA housing adviser Matthew O’Connell.
‘Rural exception sites are a key means of providing affordable homes in rural areas where a landowner provides land at below market value to build affordable homes for local people. It is clear that local authorities are missing a trick by not using these sites to their full potential,’ he pointed out.
O’Connell explained that it is known that 27% of CLA members want to build affordable housing and many are keen to manage their own affordable properties. ‘To harness this ambition, local councils and housing associations must engage with rural landowners to help bring more sites forward increasing the range of housing options for people in rural areas,’ he said.
‘Without challenging a few orthodoxies we are not going to solve the rural housing crisis. New build rented housing, affordable home ownership and affordable rented homes are all crucial to maintaining a living, working countryside. With the right support and incentives, rural landowners hold the key to easing the acute shortage of housing in the countryside,’ he added.
To help increase the supply of affordable homes across the countryside the CLA is calling on the Government to formalise the process for landowners to manage affordable homes. It says that when a plot of land has been found for a rural exception site, but there is no housing association or other organisation to manage the site, it will not progress.
Indeed, there are examples of landowners who have come to agreements with local authorities to manage the affordable homes themselves. ‘We believe more sites would come forward if this process was formalised. Having a government approved boiler plate section 106 agreement would provide assurances to other landowners and local authorities that they could pursue this option,’ he said.
It also wants implementation of Housing White Paper proposals on rural exception sites. The White Paper, published almost a year ago now, proposed to give stronger support for rural exception sites and the role they can play in providing affordable housing for the community, even if this relies on an element of general market housing. The CLA supports the proposal and would emphasise that cross subsidy will result in more sites coming forward.
The CLA also calls for properties provided as affordable homes to be exempted from liability for Inheritance Tax as 52% of CLA members would be more willing to build and manage affordable homes for rent for local people if the value of the housing was conditionally exempt from Inheritance Tax until the housing was sold on the open market.
On top of this it suggests that the value of land sold for affordable homes should be exempted from Capital Gains Tax.
