The CPRE, (the Countryside Charity), have recently published…

You often hear people talk about a housing crisis, and addressing it is something that we at CPRE are passionate about. We’ll explain what we mean when we talk about housing being in crisis – and what must be done to solve it.

What is the housing crisis and how did it come about?

Here’s the housing crisis, explained: the way we see it, a country faces a housing crisis when a significant part of the population doesn’t have access to a safe, decent home that’s suitable for their needs and that they can genuinely afford to live in.

'A country faces a housing crisis when a significant part of the population doesn’t have access to a safe, decent home that’s suitable for their needs and that they can genuinely afford to live in.'

In Britain, analysis by Shelter showed that 17.5 million people are in this very situation – or up to 22 million when you include children.

More than a crisis, this is a national emergency.

So why does CPRE care so much about affordable housing?

Why do we care so much about housing affordability in the first place? Because housing is at the heart of what we want to see: thriving and sustainable rural communities. Homes for social rent are essential to this, as these are the type of Affordable Housing most likely to be genuinely affordable.

Building affordable housing in a village can also help young people and young families stay in the area. This can ensure local services like primary schools, post offices and even pubs stay open, maintaining a sense of community.

By giving people with varying jobs and backgrounds the opportunity to settle in a town or village, genuinely affordable housing can create diverse and closely-knit communities.

There are also economic benefits to affordable housing. Each development of 10 affordable homes can create 26 jobs, generate £250,000 for government and provide a £1.4 million boost to help level up disadvantaged local economies. It’s not just people who can benefit from genuinely affordable homes, but the economy too.

What does the housing crisis mean for the countryside?

In the countryside, the affordable housing crisis is twofold. It’s a lack of homes AND a lack of homes that are genuinely affordable to local people.

Affordable, social housing was lost when people were able to buy their houses. Add to this the fact that not enough homes as options for those on low incomes, such as social rented housing, are being built in rural areas, and the housing squeeze is chronic.

For every 8 rural homes sold under the ‘right to buy’ scheme, only 1 replacement home is being built, and this, combined with other issues, led to the loss of 165,000 social homes between 2013 and 2019.

- To read the full CPRE article click here