PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

Monday 3 July 2017

Responding to a Campaign to Protect Rural England report on Green Belt housing [1], Rural Services Network assistant director Andy Dean said:

“The delivery of affordable homes in rural communities where they are needed is of great concern to the Rural Services Network.

“All developments in the green belt should make a substantial contribution to affordable housing needs and have local support.

“Rural Exception Sites in green belt locations are important in helping meeting rural housing needs – but they should remain solely for affordable homes.

“Many local authorities, housing associations and local community organisations do a great job in delivering affordable homes in appropriate numbers to meet local need.

“We are keen to see the right tools made available to enable such good work to be extended across many more rural communities where clear need exists and where the existing stock of affordable homes is often disappearing.”

Notes to editors:

1) The CPRE annual Green Belt Under Siege report was published on Monday (3 July). It suggests that more than 70% of houses proposed for development are not expected to be ‘affordable’. A CPRE press release about the report can be viewed at: http://www.cpre.org.uk/media-centre/latest-news-releases/item/4622-more-green-belt-being-lost-without-tackling-housing-crisis.

Media contact:

Graham Biggs MBE
RSN chef executive
T: 01588 674 922
M: 07966 790197
E: graham.biggs@sparse.gov.uk
W: www.rsnonline.org.uk