RURAL areas are bearing the brunt of a national shortfall in affordable housing, suggests a report.

Some 81% of the national affordable housing shortfall last year consisted of failed rural housing delivery.

The Commission for Rural Communities has spent the last six months analysing revised government targets for rural social housing.

It decided to do so after the government slashed its target for the construction of rural affordable housing by 17.5%.

Just 8,500 affordable rural homes will now be built during the years 2008/09 to 2010/11. The original target was 10,300 homes.

The commission said it wanted to see for itself whether the rural reduction was proportionate given changes to the national affordable housing programme.

“The Housing Corporation’s own target for new rural affordable housing for 2008/09 has been missed by 13.75%,” said the commission.

“This was a significantly greater shortfall than that seen in meeting the national target for affordable housing, which saw a shortfall of below 1%.

“Worryingly 81% of the national affordable housing shortfall for last year consisted of failed rural housing delivery.”

The commission acknowledged widespread praise from rural housing stakeholders for higher grant rates for rural housing delivery.

But it added: “Part of the rural shortfall may reflect the fact that the rural target for housing was more challenging than the national target.”

Equally, there was widespread concern that the sector is suffering from strained capacity and difficult market conditions.

Given the shortfall it was important that government was vigilant in its continued support in the two remaining years of the rural programme.

The full analysis can be downloaded here (168KB pdf).

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Affordable housing -What is it?
written by David Gray, March 22, 2010

Below is an extract from
http://www.communities.gov.uk/...housing/
I am none the wiser as to what 'affordable housing' is especially is a 'sustainable mixed community'

The Government believes everyone should have the opportunity of a decent home, which they can afford, within a sustainable mixed community. Provision of housing should meet the needs of the whole community, including those whose needs are not met by the housing market, and should include a good balance of housing types and tenures.

Affordable housing includes social rented housing and intermediate housing (eg shared equity) provided for households whose needs are not met by the housing market. The Government also supports some households (eg key workers, social tenants) in their aspirations to buy a home by providing shared equity homes. Affordable homes are provided at sub-market prices, and restricted to specified types of household.

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