A DETAILED INVESTIGATION INTO THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS OF , &

Produced by The Rural Housing Enabler in conjunction with Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford Parish Council March 2012

1 Contents

 Summary ………………………………………………………………………… 3  Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 3

1. Purpose of the Survey …………………………………………………. 4

2. House Prices and existing affordable stock…………….. 6

3. Survey Results ……………………………………………………………….. 8

Household Respondents Tenure of all Residents Property Types Desirability Migration Ethnicity Percentage in Favour of Comments

4. Housing Needs Analysis ……………………………………………… 15

5. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………. 17

6. Contacts …………………………………………………………………………. 19

Appendix 1. Additional affordability data………………..20

2

Summary

 An affordable housing need survey was carried out in the Parish of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford in November 2011.  Results obtained showed there was a need for up to 9 affordable homes for local people enabling them to be suitably housed within their community  This could be developed on a Rural Exception Site, if this was available and subject to Parish Council and Homes & Communities Agency support

Introduction

The Rural Housing Enabler works with Parish Councils and Local Authorities in order to investigate the needs for affordable homes in villages. The first step in this process is to undertake housing need survey which will give an overview of the current housing situation in a village, and provide detail of the need for local affordable homes.

The and Leicestershire Strategic Housing Market Assessment states that, “Housing need is high in most rural areas (of the county) some 250 additional affordable homes per year are currently needed in rural areas.” The report continues that between 35 and 45 of these should be built within villages in North West Leicestershire to meet current demand. Further information may be found at www.oakleaves.org.uk, the website of the Leicestershire Rural Partnership.

3 During October 2011, the Rural Housing Enabler and Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford Parish Council worked together to deliver a Housing Needs Survey form to every household in the village.

Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford currently has a population of 2346 (2001 Census). Since this census 102 homes have been built in the village, all were provided for sale on the open market. There are about 1250households within the parish.

Enough survey forms (1300) were produced for distribution to each household throughout the parish with spares for others requesting a form.

1. Purpose of the Survey

1.1 The survey was conducted in order to obtain clear evidence of the housing need in the parish of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford. This evidence can then be used, along with evidence from other sources, to inform the Parish Council and North West Leicestershire District Council on what type and tenure of affordable housing is required to meet local needs.

1.2 One option of meeting a village’s housing need is through the construction of a purpose built affordable housing development using the exception criteria set out in Planning Policy Supplement 3 (PPS3).This is known as a Rural Exception Site. These small sites, usually between 6 and 12 homes, are located on, but outside, the village boundary and have two special features: 1. Priority is given to households with a strong local connection as defined in an S106 “Local Lettings” Agreement.

4 2. Homes remain affordable in perpetuity* * On rural exception sites there is no “Right-to-buy” and 80% of equity in a home is maximum that can be owned on Shared Ownership properties.

There is mention of exception site criteria in the North West Leicestershire Local Plan.

To develop affordable rural homes by any method there must be accurate details of affordable housing need within the parish. The support of the Parish Council for any subsequent affordable housing scheme is essential to the process.

1.3 Secondly, the information can be used positively in the planning process in that it provides a foundation on which to negotiate planning gain opportunities with developers. In short, it gives planners evidence which can be used to obtain an element of local needs housing in negotiations with house builders should such properties arise in the village.

1.4 The information obtained from such a survey is also valuable at the local level, particularly in relation to the Parish Council’s activities. Such information can be acted upon locally and taken on board in the decision making process when housing issues arrive.

5 2 House Prices and Affordable Housing Stock

2.1 The Government’s objective to deliver a better balance between housing demand and supply is not being met in rural . There would seem to be an increasing imbalance in supply and demand for rural housing, in particular within smaller rural settlements. As a consequence, affordability is a very real issue in many parts of rural England. In the most extreme case, average house prices are around ten times the local average income.

2.2 As there have been very few house sales in the villages over the past few months, the approach taken is to review the asking prices of properties on the market at present. The following is purely illustrative. Figures are taken from rightmove.co.uk. Starting with the least expensive home starter home in the Parish, this is a 2 Bed link terraced house in Donisthorpe with an asking price of £117,000. There is some doubt as to this asking price being achieved in the present financial climate. Assuming a mortgage was available and a three-and-a-half times income multiplier, if the buyer had a £20,000 deposit, then an income of over £28,000p.a. would be required to purchase this home. (There is a 3-bed terraced home in Oakthorpe on the market at £100,000. This would require an income of £26,000p.a. if the buyer had a 10% deposit and a mortgage was available.)

2.3 Hypothetically then, to purchase an entry level property in Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford, i.e. 2Bed house – should one be available - an income of over £28,000p.a. would be required (assumes 3.5 income multiplier). This

6 figure assumes a deposit c.20%. If 100% mortgage was needed an income of over £33,000p.a. would be necessary. This may not be available.

2.4 To assist in clarifying this, the table below (Fig. 1) shows household income per annum in the parish of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford (Source: CACI paycheck2007):

Figure 1 Numbers of households in which income range

Income range in £ per Number of annum households in range £0 – 10,000 110 £10,000 > 20,000 247 £20,000 > 30,000 252 £30,000 > 40,000 189 £40,000 > 50,000 125 £50,000 > 60,000 79 £60,000 > 70,000 49 £70,000 > 80,000 30 £80,000 > 90,000 18 £90,000 + 30

2.5 Bearing in mind the figures in paragraph 2.3, the table above shows that about half of the households in the parish could comfortably afford an entry level home if they were not already satisfactorily housed.

2.6 Existing Affordable Housing in the Parish

Information from North West Leicestershire District Council Strategic Housing Team states that there are 187 Local Authority rented and 12 Housing Association homes in the Parish.

7 3 Survey Results

3.1 The following sections of this report detail the responses from the questionnaires distributed and returned during October 2011 in the parish of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford.

3.2 Respondents’ individual details have been kept confidential and any identifiable attributes have not been included in the results. Any comments that have been made may have also been edited so as not to identify individual circumstances.

3.3 The following results are a snapshot in time and provide the parish and North West Leicestershire District Council with an insight into the parish in terms of current housing need, the desirability of the village and the current level of facilities serving the local community.

3.4 A total of 219 survey forms were received giving a return rate of about 20%. This is a normal response for this type of survey, when considering that only people who have housing need or who are interested in commenting on local matters respond.

3.5 Household Age Range Respondents

3.5.1 (Figure 2) the largest number of replies (48%) came from households that contained people aged 45 to 74 years old. Under 25 year olds represented about 34% and households containing members between 30-44 years of age represented about 23%of replies.

8 Figure 2 Age range people in respondent’s households

3.5.2 The Commission for Rural Communities report ‘State of the Countryside 2010’ found that the proportion of people aged 15 – 29 in rural areas had fallen from 21% to 15% in the past 20 years. The full report may be found at www. ruralcommunities.gov.uk.

3.6 Tenure of all Respondents

The current household tenure of all respondents is given in the table below (Figure 3). It is easy to see that owner/occupiers were by far the largest tenure group accounting for 85%, of which 52% had a mortgage.

9 Figure 3 Tenure of respondents

3.7 Property Types

3.7.1 The table, below (Figure 4), shows that the majority of respondents came from households in 3 bed houses (40%). 4 bed houses represented 25%

10 Figure 4 Property types

3.8 Desirability

3.8.1 The following two charts detail respondents’ answers to the desirability questions. The answers to these questions allow us to build up a picture of life within Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford. From this we can gain an indication of whether any affordable housing that is subsequently provided in the village will be sustainable, i.e. a place where people would want to live both now and in the future.

11 Figure 5 Desirability of life in the Parish

3.8.2 From this first chart (Figure 5) we know that the vast majority of residents consider that Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford has a good reputation, is a nice place to live which has a balanced and varied population with a friendly community atmosphere/spirit.

12 Figure 6 Some other aspects of life in the Parish

220 200 180 160 130 Yes 140 120 No 88 100 86 82 83 Don't know 80 60 54 60 48 38 41 36 Not given 34 30 40 25 28 13 20 0 Lack of adequate Lack of facilities Crime ASB housing

3.8.3 The second chart (Figure 6) shows that respondents thought there was a strong indication that lack of adequate facilities is an issue.

3.9 Migration

3.9.1 The survey also asked whether respondents knew of people who had had to leave the village because of lack of suitable accommodation.

3.9.2 This chart (Figure 7) shows that existing residents were not aware that a high number of local people have been forced to move out of the village in order to secure suitable housing. However, it should be remembered that people who have moved away may not have divulged their reasons for doing so. The 4% figure below relates to those residents who know of people who have had to leave the village in order to secure suitable housing.

13 Figure 7 Respondents aware of households leaving for need of an affordable home

3.10 Ethnicity

3.10.1 Nearly all respondents were white and British. This does support the recent Countryside Agency Report which found that rural settlements had lower levels of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) residents than that of urban centres.

14 3.11 Percentage in Favour of Small Development

Figure 8

3.11.1 The chart above (Figure 8) shows that about 50% of respondents were in favour of a small development of affordable homes for local people.

3.12 Comments

3.12.1 Below are some of the comments made by respondents about the village. The housing related comments are given first, followed by general comments.

Housing related comments

 We need affordable/low cost starter homes, for both young and old so they can stay in the village (16 comments)  The village is large enough (4 comments)  Build bungalows for older people (12comments)

15 General comments

 We need a shop/Post office (65 comments)  More needs to be provided for young people in the Parish (20 comments)  Increased police presence is essential (13 comments)  Better public transport would really help (10 comments)  Faster broadband, road safety measures and medical facilities were also mentioned

4 Housing Need Analysis

4.1 Out of the 219 returns, 208 were from households who felt that they were adequately housed and would not be looking to move to alternative accommodation within the next 3 years. These respondents completed a form primarily to offer their support/objection towards a local needs housing development as well as give their comments regarding the desirability of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford. These were therefore discounted from the rest of the analysis. . 4.2 Accordingly, as far as the requirement for affordable housing is concerned, there were 11 returns detailing a housing need, of which 9 qualified for affordable housing under North West Leicestershire’s Housing Policies.

4.3 Assessment of need was done anonymously so that data was kept secure. Information was also taken into consideration regarding those on the housing waiting list for the parish.

4.4 The following table (Figure 9) lists the need of respondents. The first category was households in definite need of housing within the next three years. Details of individual residents are kept but have not been divulged in this report so that their anonymity can be preserved.

16 Figure 9

Need/Time No/Type of Home Tenure Household period 2x 1 Bed Flats Rent Young adults 1 x 2 Bed Homes Rent Young families Next 3 years 2 x 2 Bed Elderly Bungalows Shared ownership 3 x 2 Bed Rent Elderly Bungalows 1 x 3 Bed Homes Rent Family

4.5 North West Leicestershire District Council currently operates a Choice Based Lettings system whereby households registered can express an interest in any property suitable for their needs. The following information is taken from that database and is given for information only. 4.6 There are 127 households living in the District of North West Leicestershire with an active housing application that wish to live in either Oakthorpe or Donisthorpe. It is not possible to determine which of these have a local connection to the Parish but, realistically, a proportion of them will have. Overall this need is broken down as:

36 x 1/2Bed Flats 16 x 2 Bed Bungalows 36 x 2 Bed Houses 27 x Small 3 Bed Houses 12 x Large 3 Bed and 4 Bed Houses

5 Conclusion

5.1 The Rural Housing Enabler, in partnership with Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford Parish Council and North West

17 Leicestershire District Council, has conducted a detailed study of the affordable housing need of the village. This study has not only investigated the actual housing need of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford residents but has also ascertained residents’ views with regard to living in the village, as well as identifying local support for a development to meet local needs.

5.2 Concentrating on those who need homes within the next 3 years the need emerging from the village survey is as follows:

2 x 1 Bed Homes 1 x 2 Bed Home 1 x 3 Bed Homes 5 x 2 Bed Bungalows

5.3 Having regard to the results of the village needs survey; the suggestion is that a development of up to 9 new homes in Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford, on a rural exception site, would be suitable at present.

Type and tenure would be suggested as follows:

RENT SHARED OWNERSHIP

2 x 1 Bed Flats 1 x 2 Bed Homes 1 x 3 Bed homes 3 x 2 Bed Bungalows 2 x 2 Bed Bungalows

5.4 This development of up to a maximum of 9 homes will meet the current housing need for those who, being in housing 18 need and wishing to stay within the parish of Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford, are unable to secure a suitable affordable home.

5.5 The findings of this survey were that 50% of respondents were in favour of a small development of affordable homes for local people.

5.6 Please note that these figures may be subject to change in the light of further community consultation.

5.7 Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford Parish Council supported this report at their meeting 16.4.12 .

6 Contacts

The Leicestershire & Rutland Rural Housing Enabler Richard Windley Unit 19 Business Centre Stenson Road Leics LE67 4JP Tel: 01530 276546 [email protected]

Clerk to Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford Parish Council Lindsay Swinfield

19 Appendix 1. Oakthorpe, Donisthorpe & Acresford House prices and affordability All data from Hometrack

All properties Average House Price % Price changes on previous year Current year £166,169 -6.4% Over last year £177,580 1.9% Over last 2 years £163,025 -17.4% Over last 3 years £201,212 -7.0% Over last 4 years £178,697

Property Average House Mortgage Average Mortgage Type House price required* Lower Required* Price change quartile current in value house year over price last 2 Current years year All £166,169 -6.4% £850 £121,750 £623 Flat n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Terrace £115,363 -9.5% £590 £117,000 £599 Semi £132,188 16.3% £676 £125,000 £640 detached Detached £234,000 3.6% £1,197 £180,000 £921

*Assumptions upon which mortgage payments based on 20% deposit, 5.8% interest rate and 25 year mortgage period

House price to income ratio mean property price = 4.69 times House price to income ratio for a lower quartile property = 7.0 times

20