WIREDGOV

This report will look again at the impact of the recession on housing in rural areas.

In our last report on housing in September 2009 we found serious stress occurring within rural areas, this included:

• Very low levels of development of market housing and a slowdown in some types of social house building
• Slower falls in house prices in sparse rural areas and worsening problems of affordability due to restricted mortgage lending
• A welcome decline in the level of repossessions but other signs of increasing housing need

This occurred alongside a revision downwards of the last government’s rural housing targets and concerns about the impact of future spending cuts.

We would be interested in hearing from you and of your first hand experiences, whether you are a rural housing association, a rural local authority, a rural based builder, a rural housing developer or someone struggling to find a new home or stay in their existing accommodation.

How is the rural housing market and rural housing providers now coping? What are your current experiences of:

• The impact on rural house prices and sales
• The impact on rural builders, housing associations, local authorities and developers
• The impact of rural people and communities in housing need
• Whether new government initiatives are working in your area, what other steps could be taken to address the problems you are seeing
• What a much tighter spending environment could mean for you and for rural housing

If you can contribute please email Matt Griffith by 8th November 2010. The report will be published in mid December.