Many Rural Community Action Network members have in post a Rural Housing Enabler. Some RHEs are employed directly by local authorities and other organisations like housing trusts. There are currently are around 60 working in England (others are employed in Wales and Scotland). Their responsibilities include:
- Raising awareness of issues surrounding affordable housing with local communities
- Working with local communities and parish councils to assess local housing needs
- Working with landowners and parish councils to identify potential sites for development
- Liaising with relevant organisations including Local Housing and Planning Authorities and Housing Associations in order to ensure development is targeted to the areas of greatest need
- Increasing awareness of problems surrounding rural housing and influencing future policy
Examples of RHE’s work on rural affordable housing
Click here for a list of RHE contacts
The Rural Housing Advisory Group
ACRE is a member of The Rural Housing Advisory Group . It was set up at the request of the Government with the aim to advise on and seek ways to improve delivery of affordable rural housing, promoting joint working between key stakeholders through the provision of a forum for sharing good practice and encouraging innovation.
Affordable housing keeps villages alive
Many villages face a challenging future - with local services under threat as people are priced out of rural communities. ACRE and members of the Rural Community Action Network have contributed to this joint publication led by the National Housing Federation with support from the Commission for Rural Communities and other national rural-focused organisations. It shows how just a few affordable homes on a suitable site can breathe fresh life into a village and ensure local people can stay in their community, whatever their age or circumstances.
The publication aimed at rural communities does what it says on the tin, highlighting many case studies across rural England showing the issues of solutions for people in housing need living in those areas. It dispels some of the myths about affordable housing as well as showing the great benefits brought to people and rural communities when small affordable housing schemes are built.
ACRE is very pleased in the interest from Rural Housing Enablers and others working in rural housing to help distribute copies of the publication to rural communities. We hope that that Affordable housing keeps villages alive will help support these crucial housing enabling roles and rural affordable housing in the future. view publication here |
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ACRE Briefing: Conservative Planning Green Paper
The Conservative Party issued its long awaited Green Paper on Planning at the end of February 2010. Their proposals would abolish the top-down determination of housing requirements via Regional Spatial Strategies, and transfer the responsibility of assessing local development needs to Local Government. Local Plans would take much greater account of the vision that local communities develop for their own area under a process of 'collaborative democracy', which mirrors the current approach of Community Led Planning. Additional development would be rewarded through local tariffs on development and other incentives, some proportion of which would transfer to local communities themselves.
Read ACRE's briefing on the Green Paper here
The Government's response to the Taylor Review
The Government response to the Taylor Review was published in late March 2009. The delay had concerned rural and housing organisations believing it might mean a lack of support. However the Governments response was mainly very positive and welcomed most of Matthew Taylor’s 48 recommendations. In doing so it recognised that rural areas ‘face a range of challenges which are very different in different parts of the country and require targeted responses at local level’ . The Government also commented positively on the Review’s extensive consultation noting that it had helped shape ’a growing consensus about what is needed in the English Countryside’.
ACRE supports many aspects of the Government’s response because it recognised the benefits of supporting community-led action, and increasing the long-term sustainability of local community life. This structure of this Briefing mirrors the Government responses and you can find ACRE’s ACRE's Briefing on the Government's response to Taylor here
ACRE has also prepared a Briefing on the Taylor Review and Government response (below) and press release on the Government's response to the Taylor Review. For the press release please view here
The Homes and Communities Agency’s Single Conversation
The Single Conversation is the term the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) (insert link) uses to describe how it will engage with local authorities and their partners in the private, independent and voluntary sectors. The information it gathers will inform its business plan and investment decisions. The Single Conversation aims to be co-operative and consensual to bring forward affordable housing and regeneration based on the needs of local areas. Read ACRE’s Briefing on the Single Conversation here.
Consultation on Planning Policy Statement 4 - Planning for Prosperous Economies
This ACRE Briefing summarises a New Draft Statement that brings together the Government’s main planning polices relating to the economy.
It is a consultation and responses were invited by 28th July 2009. ACRE encouraged RCAN members to send submissions as individual organisations and to contribute to a joint response that we co-ordinate. ACRE’s response to Draft PPS4 can be seen here.
View ACRE's Policy Position Paper on Housing here
ACRE's fieldworkers conference
ACRE ran a successful conference for fieldworkers in June this year entitled 'Skills for Development Work'. It was designed for people who work to support communities in areas such as Village Halls, Rural Housing and Community Led Planning (CLP). read more about the event here
Concept Statements
This short film shows the development of a Concept Statement by the community of Hartington in the Peak District National Park.
- Concept statements are a clear expression of the kind of place developments should be creating, not in technical terms but in simple everyday language that everyone can understand
- They are the product of a meaningful debate between the community, developer and the local planning authority, and are a brief explanation of how development should contribute to the local planning authority’s vision.
Most concept statements can be fitted onto two sides of A4 paper. view film here
RuralCAN RCAN Fieldworkers’ Conference 2010 - Conference Resources
ACRE held its annual Fieldworkers’ Conference on 8th and 9th June in York. We hosted almost 100 delegates and speakers over two packed days comprising more than 20 workshops and plenary sessions.
Click here to find more detail about the each session held at the Conference including summaries of the workshops and the PowerPoint slides.
ACRE's fieldworkers conference
ACRE held its annual Fieldworkers’ Conference on 8th and 9th June in York. We hosted almost 100 delegates and speakers over two packed days comprising more than 20 workshops and plenary sessions. We are very grateful to all our delegates and speakers who made RuralCAN 2010 such an excellent Conference. View more..
