How to increase the number of affordable homes in rural England

Conservative MP Neil O’Brien has been pushing for radical changes to the housing market:
Futures Forum: A solution to our housing problems: land value capture

The rural press has been following his latest intervention:

RURAL HOUSING CRISIS SOLUTIONS

NEWSHOUSINGFUTURE OF RURAL AREASBARRIERS TO ACCESS

08.10.2018  

PoliticsHome reported on a fringe event at the Conference organised by the CPRE and the National Housing Federation looking at the best way to increase the number of affordable homes in rural England.

Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, highlighted that the UK housing crisis is not solely an urban problem and that, first and foremost, the root causes of limited supply should be tackled.

Tom Fyans of the CPRE said that money is a crucial factor: currently only 8% of rural housing is categorised as ‘affordable’ and this classification is made without taking into account rural salaries, which are typically lower than urban ones. John Lefever from Hastoe Housing Association – the largest rural housing association in the UK – argued it was essential to address ‘local housing need’ and maintain a ‘community connection’ when building new houses.

Full article:

→ PoliticsHome - Neil O’Brien MP: England’s rural housing crisis cannot be resolved by simply 'building more homes'

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Rural housing crisis solutions - Rural Services Network

England’s rural housing crisis cannot be resolved by simply building more homes

Sunday at Conservative Party Conference saw MP Neil O’Brien joined by a panel of experts to debate the best way to bring affordable homes back to rural England. 

The debate needs to refocus on tackling the root causes of limited supply, such as local opposition to development and lack of infrastructure and have a concerted push towards increasing ownership occupation and strategic developments with well-designed infrastructure. 

Giving people tax incentives for investing in other things outside of bricks and mortar can make a difference. 

The panel agreed that affordability is also impacted by how land value is captured. It is important to capture more of the value of the development for the community.

It is absolutely essential that housing is built to only address "local housing need. "

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