New stats reveal rural housing crisis and demand action, argues CPRE

New government figures reveal a deepening housing crisis across rural England, with homelessness up 73% since 2018 and rates of rough sleeping in some countryside areas now exceeding those in major cities. Research carried out by CPRE, the countryside charity in 2023 revealed that twelve rural local authorities had rates of rough sleeping higher than the national average and seven higher than that in London.

There is an extreme disparity between rural rents and house prices, which are higher than those in other parts of the country, and rural wages, which are much lower.  

As parliament considers the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, CPRE is calling on the government to:

• Provide a statutory definition of ‘affordable’ housing, linking it to average local incomes rather than market rates. 

• Set ambitious and legally binding targets for genuinely affordable and social-rented homes in all new developments, with developers held to account if they are not delivered.

• Introduce ‘use it or lose it’ measures to prioritise development of the 1.4 million homes already granted planning permission and the 1.2 million potential homes on shovel-ready brownfield sites.

While the construction of so-called ‘affordable’ homes has increased 70% since 2012 overall, these figures mask regional disparities and rely on a flawed definition of ‘affordable’ that mean far too many of these homes remain out of reach of ordinary people. The North West and South West have seen construction of ‘affordable’ homes decrease by 6.2% and 8.9% respectively. 

Meanwhile, social housing construction has collapsed by 32% since 2012, with just 2,831 social homes built in rural England last year.

The social housing waiting list in rural areas stands at around 300,000 people, a backlog that would take 82 years to clear at current building rates. In the South West, nearly 65,000 people are still waiting for social housing despite a 33% decrease in waiting lists since 2012.

CPRE head of policy and planning Paul Miner said: ‘The rural housing crisis is tearing communities apart, with homelessness soaring and rough sleeping now worse in some countryside areas than it is in our biggest cities. 

‘The Planning and Infrastructure Bill could transform how we deliver genuinely affordable homes by tackling the stranglehold of big developers, redefining ‘affordable’ based on local incomes, and setting meaningful targets for social housing and genuinely affordable homes. With 300,000 rural people on waiting lists and a backlog that would take 82 years to clear, it’s time for the government to act.’