Huw Morris, PlanningResource, 11 May 2009
More than 100,000 young adults will leave the English countryside over the next three years prompting fears that traditional village life in many areas of the country is now in terminal decline.
Research published today by the National Housing Federation (NHF) estimates 103,000 people aged between 24 and 35 will migrate from villages and market towns to urban areas by 2012.
The NHF said a chronic shortage of affordable housing in rural England was fuelling the mass exodus of young people from the countryside and estimates around 100,000 affordable homes need to be built to meet demand in rural areas over the next ten years.
Waiting lists for affordable homes have soared by around 40 per cent in rural areas over the last five years to 700,000 people as younger adults have been priced out of villages by an influx of wealthy commuters, second home buyers and retired couples.
The NHF is calling on local authorities in rural areas to draw up action plans to address the housing needs of their communities as it launches a campaign today aimed at tackling the housing crisis in the countryside.
"There’s a real danger that traditional village life will die out within a generation unless we can build more affordable homes for young people and stop what is fast becoming a mass exodus to cheaper, urban areas," said NHF chief executive David Orr.
"Rural England desperately needs young adults to support and contribute to their communities, but high house prices and a chronic shortage of affordable housing are threatening to turn our villages into family free zones.
"Far too often the voices of people opposed to building new homes drown out the needs of local people who want to stay and sustain their villages.
"We want affordable homes to be built in every rural area where there is a proven need for it. It’s crucial that every rural local authority in the country now draws up an action plan detailing how they plan to meet the demand for affordable housing."
The planning system must not be seen as a tool for promoting economic development if the future of the English countryside is to be secured, according to The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
Setting out its vision for the future of the English countryside, 2026 – A Vision for the Countryside, CPRE describes the countryside it wants to see in 2026, the charity’s centenary year.
The vision sees a countryside where:
- Urban regeneration has "contributed to more green space, affordable housing, vibrant neighbourhoods and people-friendly transport."
- Over two million "high quality homes" have been built by 2026.
- "There is a democratic planning system with more decisions taken locally and environmentally sustainable development. Planning is not just seen as a tool for promoting economic development."
- Energy efficient rural buildings and low carbon communities are "commonplace and green energy developments are sensitive to landscape."
- There is more woodland and wetland.
Shaun Spiers, CPRE chief executive, said: "There tends to be an unrelenting pessimism that our countryside won’t survive the pressures it faces from built development, climate change and the impacts of globalisation.
"There is worryingly little confidence that the countryside can actually be improved – that it can become more beautiful and richer in wildlife, with well designed and well planned developments that contribute to both its appearance and its vitality.
"But that is our vision and we are confident that with the right political and civic leadership and a consensus on how we should value and safeguard our rural heritage, this vision can be achieved."
2026 – A Vision for the Countryside can be read here.
Mike Roberts BSC(HONS) MRICS
Director
Vertigo supports The Green New Deal-investment for a sustainable future now.
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