West Berkshire villages in debate on affordable housing

MPs from across the political spectrum gathered in Westminster Hall last week to highlight the growing affordable housing crisis threatening the viability of rural communities throughout the UK.

Leading the debate, Labour MP Olivia Bailey (Reading West and Mid Berkshire) painted a stark picture of beautiful countryside villages where skyrocketing house prices have made it impossible for younger generations to remain in their communities.

Ms Bailey summed up the urgency felt across the chamber: “From Beech Hill to Mortimer, from Beenham to Compton, from Hampstead Norreys to East and West Ilsley, and from Upper Bucklebury to Upper Basildon, we can build the affordable housing that is so vital for these beautiful villages to continue thriving far into the future.”

The debate highlighted the impacts of poor housing availability that lie behind the statistics. As Ms Bailey noted: “Without affordable housing, schools close because there are not enough children to fill a class; pubs shut their doors because there are not enough punters to buy pints; and services for the elderly stop operating because there is nobody to volunteer. We simply cannot have a community without people, and those people need affordable homes.”

Connecting Communities in Berkshire (CCB) is an independent charity with 50 years of experience in community development work, originally founded in 1973 as a Rural Community Council.

It aims to help those who are held back by a lack of opportunity, whether that is caused by poverty, lack of skills, isolation, or social deprivation and is working to get more affordable housing in Beenham.

"Beenham Parish Council contacted us late last spring,” explained rural housing enabler Maria Kelly.

“They felt that access to suitable and affordable housing for Beenham residents was an important issue and wanted to do a Housing Need Survey to try to understand the extend of the problem.

"The parish council were open to the idea of a small development of affordable homes for local people, in Beenham, if there was a proven need.

“It is really important that the survey process and any further conversations about potential home building are led by the needs and priorities of the community, and it is very much a partnership between myself and Beenham Parish Council.

"Following the survey, we held an event with the parish council to present the results of the survey and talk about what impact a lack of affordable housing is having on people and the wider community in Beenham.

“We also talked about potential sites for new homes in and around the village, to collect residents’ views and gain local insights.

"We now know that there is affordable housing need in Beenham that could be met with a small Rural Exception Site development, and there are sites that local residents feel would be suitable.

“The next steps will be to assess potential sites, speak to landowners and potential housing providers."

In the Westminster debate, Ms Bailey noted that “house prices in the countryside increased at close to twice the rate of those in urban areas” over a recent five-year period.

A quick search on property website Rightmove showed only four houses under £450k.

She highlighted how social housing providers, including Sovereign, have been selling off affordable rural properties, moving them permanently into the private market at unaffordable prices.

The housing minister, Matthew Pennycook MP (Greenwich and Woolwich), said the Budget had included a £500 million top-up to the existing affordable homes programme to deliver 5,000 new social and affordable homes, followed by an additional £300 million injection announced earlier this month.

Plans are in place to strengthen rural exception sites policy, which allows affordable housing development on land where standard housing would not normally be permitted - although it is unclear how this might work with West Berkshire planning policies.

However West Berkshire Council has offered and provided pre-planning advice to CCB.

"The council leadership, specifically Denise Gains, have been very engaged with this work, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work together," said Maria.

Rural exception site developments are about homes for local people, based on local needs. There are specialist housing associations, like English Rural, which build homes which fit within the local rural setting.

"This kind of development is not widely known about, and rural communities can be anxious about any kind of development of homes at all, because of worries about large housing estates or boxy developments that don’t fit with their village," explained Maria.

"Social homes in villages like Beenham being sold off through right to buy or by social landlords that can’t or don’t want to refurbish them has left many rural people feeling mistrustful and jaded – understandably."

A lack of affordable homes in rural communities is having an impact all over the county. Funding for rural schools is affected as families cannot afford to stay in or move back to their village because of housing costs.

This may lead to school closures in some cases as pupil numbers drop, and accordingly the funding. Pubs and social clubs, often at the heart of a community, close because there is not enough regular business, or people to work in them who can afford to live locally.

"Having more Berkshire MPs on side, advocating for rural communities, can only be a good thing," said Maria. “I hope we see continued support from the government for rural housing enabler services across the country because of Olivia Bailey’s speech.”