Boosting affordable homes in East Midlands
Midlands Rural Housing is supporting communities in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Derbyshire’s rural areas to benefit from a new package of government funding designed to unlock affordable housing opportunities.
A new scheme has been set up to help deliver the Government’s goal of increasing the supply of affordable homes in rural areas, set out in their 2023 Unleashing Rural Opportunity strategy. Research by the National Housing Federation found that the number of rural households on local authority waiting lists in England increased by 31% between 2019 and 2022, far exceeding the increase in predominantly urban areas of 3%.
The scheme, which is being delivered by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) on behalf of Defra, has committed £2.5million to fund a network of Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) across England. RHEs are independent advisors who work with communities to support the development of affordable housing schemes that meet the needs of local people.
Members of the ACRE were invited to bid for over £73,000 share of the funding, to either recruit their own RHE, or to employ a consultancy service.
In recognition of our rural housing expertise, Midlands Rural Housing were approached by three organisations, Northamptonshire ACRE, the Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland) and Rural Action Derbyshire each wanting to employ our consultancy services for the next financial year.
We worked with each organisation, helping them shape their business proposals and are delighted that all three submitted successful bids.
Over the next year, we'll will continue working with the organisations and local communities across Leicestershire, Rutland, Derbyshire, and Northamptonshire to help deliver small-scale developments, which are often the only source of affordable housing in a village.
Philippa McKenna, Project Delivery Manager at MRH said:
“We’re so pleased to be supporting these organisations to upscale their rural affordable housing work. This essential funding from Defra has really helped to unlock a fantastic opportunity to widen the existing network of Rural Housing Enablers, and to create partnerships that will hopefully become long standing ones.
“Building homes that local people can afford is so important to the vitality and sustainability of rural communities. And this rural enabling work is key to creating new opportunities to achieve these much-needed affordable homes.”
Elaine O’Leary, CEO at Northamptonshire ACRE said:
“It is great news that the lack of affordable housing in rural areas is being addressed through this programme from Defra. Enabling local people to stay in the area they have grown up in helps towards making that community a stronger and more cohesive place to live. We look forward to working with Midlands Rural Housing and other partners to help bring new schemes forward that will be local homes for local people.”
Kevin Butcher, Executive Director of the RCC for Leicestershire and Rutland said:
“It was really important that we secured this investment in local rural housing delivery. We now need local communities, parish councils and housing developers to step up and help us deliver some local homes for local people.”
If you'd like to find out more, please contact Philippa McKenna, Project Delivery Manager at MRH on 0300 1234 009 or enquiries@midlandsrural.org.uk
Published 19.03.24
