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As our rural communities are populated more by the retired and second home owners, Ruth Davison warns local authorities not to let our rural communities die. The English countryside is in the midst of an unprecedented housing crisis. The number of people stuck on waiting lists for an affordable home in villages and market towns across the country has swelled to a record figure of 750,000. But with just a few thousand new affordable properties being built every year, supply is failing to keep up with demand, and the huge backlog of families living in hope of an affordable home is growing continuously. As the waiting lists get longer, families and young people are being priced out of the countryside in huge numbers and fleeing to towns and cities where they can more easily find homes that match their budgets. Such people leave behind them villages that are becoming increasingly gentrified by an influx of wealthy commuters, second homeowners and retired couples. This demographic change is having a huge impact on traditional rural life. As families and younger workers disappear from the rural landscape so too do the pubs, shops and schools they support. Many of our villages are simply becoming theme parks, with community life and economic activity rapidly dying out. At the heart of the fight to save rural communities, lies the issue of social housing – with the basic fact being that, unless we build more affordable homes, people will continue to be priced out of rural areas and the key services they support will vanish with them. The Cumbrian district of Eden, sitting on the edge of the Lake District, exemplifies the problems people on modest incomes currently face in rural England. The price of an average house is just over £220,000 – more than 13 times the local average income of £16,458, and well beyond the reach of most people living and working in the area. The Lake District is an area famous for its exceptional natural beauty, and inevitably attracts wealthy second homeowners and retirees who push up local house prices. But the severe affordability gap in Eden between house prices and local salaries is anything but exceptional in rural England. At its most severe, average house prices in rural districts can be more than 20 times average local income, meaning local people – particularly the young – are priced out of the area. Rural England has lost almost one-quarter of its young people since 1997. Such changing demographics inevitably have a knock-on effect at a local level. As their core user base diminishes, shops and services are placed under further threat of closure. The figures are stark – 400 rural shops will be forced to close over the next year, according to the Rural Shops Alliance, while for country pubs the British Beer and Pub Association puts the number of expected closures at 650. This is not a new phenomenon, but a continuation of a trend which has seen 1,200 rural shops close in the last two years, and 600 pubs closing their doors in the past 12 months alone. Freedom of Information Act figures obtained by the National Housing Federation show a similarly bleak picture for rural schools. Sixty-two village primary schools closed between 2004 and 2008 – and average of one every month. It is a closure rate that has increased significantly since 2003. The problem is now so great that 200 more village schools could close over the next five years. The Federation has highlighted this threat to rural services as part of our Save our villages campaign, launched earlier this year. Key to the campaign is persuading all rural local authorities to make affordable housing a major priority. We believe they should commit to carrying out a comprehensive assessment of housing need in each of their rural wards every three years, and follow this up with an ambitious action plan to deliver more affordable housing. Nobody is under any illusions about the difficulties facing those trying to meet the rural housing need. Bringing forward land for development in many smaller communities can require a lot of effort. Local opposition, from some, can be fierce. But there are many examples of communities getting behind plans when they are involved in designing the solutions and can see the positive difference they will make. It is critical however, that local authorities take the lead in overcoming these issues and ensure that the affordable homes needed by so many lower-to-middle income households are delivered. The Federation has held talks with the three main political parties and there is a shared consensus that more needs to be done to tackle the rural housing crisis. With the support of local authorities we can keep village life alive and save the countryside from becoming gated communities for the wealthy. For anyone who values our countryside, and the unique place it holds in the national consciousness, it's surely a battle worth fighting for. Ruth Davison is director at the National Housing Federation

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Save our villages

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