• Affordable Rural Housing Survey - Executive Summary (click to download)
     • Affordable Rural Housing Survey - Final Report (click to download)

Many local planners are opposed to the conversion of redundant rural buildings, claims a survey into rural housing by the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

“Other economic uses for these buildings such as workshops, small factories, leisure and retail are generally encouraged,” said Tim Isaac, CLA regional surveyor.

Tim Isaac: More flexibility is needed

“If there was no general presumption against residential conversion not only would we have more homes – we would also do away with many eyesores.”

The CLA wants a more flexible approach which would allow redundant buildings near villages to be transformed to affordable housing without the need for public funding.

Current policy specifically states that funding affordable housing by using profits from the sale of open market houses built on the same development is inappropriate on what are called ‘exception sites’.

But Mr Isaac said affordable housing would be better funded if such sites also contained some open-market housing.

Mixed developments would help to make residents feel included as part of the community, rather than isolated.

Landowners releasing land and buildings for affordable housing wanted guarantees that homes built for the benefit of local people would not eventually be sold off privately at a profit.

“Almost two thirds of our respondents said that they would want to retain an interest - leasehold or freehold – to have some degree of assurance that the new homes would continue to be available for ‘genuine’ local people.”

Furthermore, affordable housing should be treated a business asset so gains from other business assets could be rolled-over.

“There are ways to encourage the provision of rural affordable housing through the tax system,” said Mr Isaac.

“Reclassifying the provision of affordable housing as a business activity and thus enabling qualification for Business Property Relief from Inheritance Tax would be a good start.”

                  See also:
                                • Brown 'to propose cheap rural homes' (31 March 2008)
                                • Government defends record on housing (27 February 2008)
                                • Appeal for evidence on rural housing (18 February 2008)
                                • Warning over affordable rural homes (23 November 2007)
                                • Get tough on second homes, PM told (18 November 2007)
                                • Call to boost affordable rural homes (18 October 2007)
                                • £10.2bn boost for affordable homes (16 October 2007)
                                • Watchdog welcomes housing pledge (13 July 2007)
                                • Civil servants debate housing crisis (11 July 2007)
                                • Councils 'could provide more homes (3 July 2007)
                                • PM Brown says homes are priority (27 June 2007)
                                • Pressure builds over rural housing (8 June 2007)

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