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Waiting lists for affordable housing in rural areas have risen by more
than a third in the last five years, it was revealed today.
Nearly 700,000 people are now waiting for an affordable home - 37%
more than in 2003, said the National Housing Federation and the
Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
At the same time the proportion of homeless households in rural areas
has more than doubled, from 16% of the national total in 2003 to 37%
now.
The groups warned urgent action is needed to provide affordable homes
or communities face an uncertain future, with younger generations
priced out of the market in many areas.
"The rural housing crisis is intensifying rapidly, with more and more
people being priced out of the market and having to live in cramped
and unsuitable conditions," said David Orr, the federation's chief
executive.
"Without urgent action by ministers many of our villages are in danger
of becoming the preserve of the rich and weekend playgrounds for
second home owners, with schools, pubs and post offices at risk of
closing because of a lack of customers."
The shortage of affordable homes is particularly acute in south-west
England.
In Dorset, where house prices are more than 15 times local earnings
and one in 30 properties is a second home, waiting lists have doubled
in five years.
The only way to solve the problem was to build more affordable homes
in every village and rural town where there is a shortage, they added.
The groups have published a charter for action. In it they urge the
government to set aside a share of future spending on social housing
for rural areas.
They also want the right to buy social housing to be restricted in
areas where there is an acute shortage, and for all rural planning
authorities to set ambitious but achievable targets for new affordable
homes.
And they want the government to publish a timetable for responding to
Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor's report into the rural housing
crisis, published in July, which called for planning restrictions on
second homes.
A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government
said providing more rural affordable homes was "a major priority for
the government".
"We have already changed the planning rules; are helping landowners to
establish community land trusts and ensuring councils deliver the
sustainable homes their communities need," he said.
But the housing minister, Caroline Flint, said local communities often
opposed the building of affordable housing in their areas, which was
contributing to the lack of supply.
Ms Flint told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "Sometimes we have
people who don't want this housing in their communities, and at a
local level I'm afraid to say that sometimes members of the CPRE are
vociferous in their voice against communities' housing needs.
"It's something I've been talking about particularly over the last six
months in relation to why we need potentially ecotowns to add to our
supply of housing in rural areas."
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