Community Futures is excited to announce that is has secured funding for a Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) service up to March 2025 as part of DEFRA’s Unleashing Rural Opportunity strategy through our national membership body ACRE.
DEFRA’s aim is to“improve the delivery of housing to meet local need in smaller communities across rural areas through the services of Rural Housing Enablers”.
Community Futures will lead the service during this one-year pilot, offering free support to rural communities in Lancashire to get the affordable housing that their communities need.
Delivery of rural affordable housing sites has declined across England in recent years, and there appear to be no plans for affordable rural homes across Lancashire which are not part of large developments. When communities work together to develop more rural solutions to meet their needs, and when people have real options in the places they want to live, this can be beneficial for an entire community as it makes a village a more sustainable place.
The purpose of this project is to enable small numbers of affordable homes to be built, in suitable locations to meet local needs, all led by the local community and, to inform DEFRA of the key factors which help and hinder rural affordable home development.
We have developed a small partnership comprising district council planning teams, charitable and faith groups, rural business groups, and “registered providers” (Housing Associations) who will guide the work of the RHE service.
If you are part of a community or business group looking at local housing needs, or are a parish council member, and would like to know more; please get in touch on the details below.
