More affordable homes needed in the countryside

A council is calling on developers and housing associations to build more affordable homes in rural areas.

A spokesperson for Somerset Council said cheaper homes are essential for rural communities to remain strong, sustainable and welcoming places to live.

Around 12,500 people are registered on the council's Homefinder service, which enables them to apply for a social housing property. The council said it knows that twenty per cent of them live in rural areas.

The push for more affordable homes comes as the new Labour Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said "we will build more council homes", but little detail is known about where these homes will be built.

In May, the council announced plans to build and own 580 new council homes in Somerset over the next six years.

It described them as its "most ambitious council house building programme for many years".

But it also wants developers and housing associations to build more social housing in the county's smaller towns and villages.

The council said more than 100 affordable homes were completed in the county's rural communities last year, and another 25 developments are in progress, which should deliver a further 450 homes.

Over the past year, permission has also been granted for 1,600 affordable homes on 43 rural sites, while 54 housing applications, which include the provision of an additional 1,700 affordable homes, are being considered.

Councillor Sarah Wakefield, lead member for adult services, housing and homelessness, said affordable housing "helps local people stay close to their families, jobs, schools and support networks, while also supporting local services and businesses".

"We know how challenging it can be for people to find a home they can afford in rural Somerset, and twenty per cent of households registered on Homefinder reside in our rural parishes," she said.

"That is why we are working closely with our housing partners, developers, parish councils and communities to support the delivery of affordable homes that meet local needs."

Kayleigh Batt and her 18-year-old son Jake moved into their brand new home last month, on a new development in Martock.

The whole process, from planning the homes to the residents moving in, took nine years. The development has 24 affordable-rent homes with a mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes.

Batt said: "The location's lovely. I've never lived in a new build."

She said they were now on a bus route, so Jake could take the bus to college, and she was better-connected for her work as a carer in the community.

"I didn't really choose Martock - it chose me. I needed to downsize, and we needed to be somewhere where there was more to do, because where we were before was really rural," she said.

"There's more shops here, there's loads more to do, they've got a doctor's surgery, opticians, butchers, everything for me, now."

A few miles away from Kayleigh's new home, her housing association, Stonewater, is building its next development of 16 affordable and social-rent homes on the site of an old school.

Stonewater said affordable rent is charged at 80% of the local market value, with the rates set by the government.

Matt Crucefix, their group director of development, said the affordable homes are really important so locals can get on the property ladder, especially in villages like Somerton, which has a lot of larger, more expensive properties.

"We've got customers who have returned to villages where they grew up and want to be close to their family. We've got other customers who have moved into homes, having been sleeping on sofas or who've been living with parents for long periods of time," he said.

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