News

This week, 3-7 July, is Rural Housing Week 2023 and we’re taking time to focus on the challenges faced by rural communities and look at how we can build a better future for these rural communities.

The east of England is classified by the Census as Largely Rural, so providing homes and creating sustainable communities in rural areas is vital.

One area of focus in this year’s Rural Housing Week is rural homelessness. Rural areas are far from immune to homelessness – in fact, the east of England is one of the worst-affected regions for rural homelessness. It typically means that an individual will be rough sleeping in locations like wooded areas, horseboxes, fields and underpasses, tents on farmland, or on moored boats.

Our colleagues at Hopestead took a deeper dive into rural homelessness, touching on new research from the universities of Kent & Southampton that highlights the “growing yet unacknowledged problem” of rural homelessness and how those experiencing it often go uncounted in official street counts. Be sure to check the full report out here, and read Hopestead’s post here.

But a key highlight to take away from the report is how it’s imperative to invest in rural communities. In fact, research released by the National Housing Federation (NHF) this week show that demand for social homes in rural areas is not being met – social housing waiting lists are growing at more than 10 times the rate in urban areas.

We’re always keen to highlight our purpose of providing homes and creating sustainable communities, in pursuit of our vision to solve the housing crisis. In the east of England, we have a number of developments in rural communities across the region and will continue to look for opportunities to develop where there is demand.

This also connects to our deeper dive into the need for a long-term plan for housing across the country, complementary to the NHF’s report on “Why we need a long-term plan for housing”.

Rural communities form so much of the east of England, and as long as this clear demand exists, we will continue working to service them. To quote Martin Collett, chief executive of the English Rural housing association, “Affordable rural housing is vital for thriving communities, and it must be prioritised.”