Affordable Housing enabling six years of delivery in rural hampshire Acknowledgements: thanks to Rural Housing Enablers Debbie Rhodes, Julie Eden and Gordon Richardson for the work which led to all this and to Chris Buchan-Hepburn, Shirley Whitfield and Marilyn Smuland for their help in producing this report and to Sifer Design. Contents 1 // Page 2 Introduction // Page 4 Case Study 1 – South Wonston // Page 6 Case Study 2 – Ropley // Page 10 Other Schemes: Commentary Hurstbourne Tarrant Copythorne Burley Barton Stacey Stockbridge Kingsclere Froxfi eld Twyford Wickham Broughton Sherfi eld English Preston Candover Charter Alley Wellow Grateley Ashford Hill and Headley South Warnborough Goodworth Clatford Wherwell Monxton Boldre Littleton Swanmore Eversley Stratfi eld Saye St Mary Bourne // Page 26 Strategic Work // Page 28 ...and the Future Right: The Genesis Design Studio Introduction The Work of the Rural Housing Enablers: Six Years on This is a celebration of achievement over the past six years by the Rural Housing Enablers based at Community Action Hampshire (CAH). CAH provides a range of services for the community and voluntary sector and rural communities across Hampshire. By achievement, is meant enabling the delivery of 235 affordable homes for local people for rent and shared ownership in villages across rural Hampshire. The rural housing enabling role means working closely with rural communities, mainly with the Parish Councils, to help to address a now widely acknowledged problem: that house price infl ation has pushed open market housing beyond the reach of those on what tends to be lower rural incomes and that there has been a loss of affordable housing through Right To Buy legislation with the result that incomers buy the expensive housing and the younger and less affluent leave to fi nd affordable housing. Where a parish wants to address the issue, the enabler will do a housing needs survey to show the scale of the problem and to gauge community backing and support them in helping to find a site should they wish to meet the need. It involves liaison at many Parish Council meetings, meetings and liaison with landowners, housing associations and planners and many public consultation exhibitions and events. This on-the-ground fieldwork, mostly in parishes of less than 3,000 population, is what lies behind the schemes built, on-site or with planning permission seen on the following pages: these homes are the product of this enabling process. And celebration is an appropriate word in a field where headlines are often dominated by problems and problem creators: // ’nimby’ neighbours oppose village homes for low-paid locals // villages become expensive geriatric and commuter enclaves while young leave to find affordable homes // planners reject proposed sites for affordable village housing Left: Kingsclere, Sentinel HA Top Right: Preston Candover site Bottom Right: Ropley 2 / 3 Such issues are real and the delivery of houses has often meant overcoming such barriers as the following commentary will indicate. Yet by the time houses are built, usually by a housing association with Government funding provided through the Housing Corporation, and people congratulate each other at opening ceremonies, the work that enabled such schemes to happen is often forgotten. Indeed, it was listening to speeches at ‘openings’ with no mention of or thanks for the work of the Rural Housing Enabler which led to the idea for this report. But while there is an element of recording achievement, the main purpose is to show local communities which have not addressed the affordable rural housing issue what can be done, how it can be done and to see the results so that they might be persuaded to make contact to discuss the possibilities in their own villages. It is also a record for those agencies which have funded the Rural Housing Enabler project over the past six years. These agencies have been the Government through the Countryside Agency and Defra; the six rural local authorities – East Hampshire, Hart, Basingstoke & Deane, Winchester, Test Valley and New Forest, these latterly with CAH and the Housing Corporation as part of the Hampshire Alliance for Rural Affordable Housing (HARAH); Hyde Housing Association as the preferred developer and, most recently, Hampshire County Council which has joined the partnership and picked up the funding shortfall caused by the withdrawal of Defra. On the latter point, it is hoped that the delivery of homes is a vindication of the value of rural housing enabling to funders, not least in support of colleagues nationally where posts have been lost in Rural Community Councils but also those located in other organisations which play a major role in this work, in particular the Rural Housing Trust. In money, the work of the Rural Housing Enablers has seen the investment of £16 million of Government funding in rural housing in Hampshire. But ‘It’s amazing. I love my house. The kids there have also been parishes where we have not been able to deliver, love it because they have a garden with usually through a combination of nimbyism, planning constraints and room for a trampoline and it’s perfect inability to find sites or a willing landowner: it can be a difficult and for me as I’m back in the village where contentious role. I grew up – my mum lives just over the road...’ Finally, on behalf of the team of Rural Housing Enablers and Community Action Hampshire, I would like to thank the above agencies and Jo from South Warnborough organisations for supporting the project. And while our professional language can justify the outcomes in terms of enhancing social, economic and environmental diversity, viability and sustainability of our rural communities, we would like to leave the real benefits to be expressed John Lancaster through the words of someone who needed one of these homes. Senior Rural Housing Enabler – June 2008 Case Study 1 South Wonston, La Frenaye Place South Wonston is a rural parish some 6 miles north of Winchester. The main settlement within the parish is the village of South Wonston with a population of around 2,700 people. Its facilities and amenities include a primary school, a church, a GP practice, a shop and post office, indoor and outdoor sports facilities and a children’s play area. The Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) fi rst made contact with South Wonston Parish Council in July 2002 and presented the role of the RHE and the process for providing affordable housing for local people at a Parish Council meeting at their invitation. It was agreed that a Housing Needs Survey should be undertaken to investigate the housing need of local people. The RHE completed the survey in January 2003 and presented the report to the Parish Council in April. The survey indicated that 17 households with a strong local connection were in need of affordable housing. Households were encouraged by the RHE and Parish Council to register their need on the Winchester City Council Housing Register. By December 2005, 22 households with a local connection had registered. In response to the need indicated in the survey, the Parish Council decided to support the development of a small scheme of affordable housing for people with a strong local connection to the parish. They were concerned that people on lower incomes who wish to remain in the parish or return to the parish should be able to do so. The RHE arranged for two Housing Associations to make presentations to the Parish Council, who then chose one of them, Winchester Housing Group (which later became A2W), to progress the development of the project. Following this decision the RHE, in close discussion with A2W, the Housing Association and Winchester City Council, undertook a site appraisal of all potential exception sites around South Wonston. The sites were presented to a Parish Council meeting in April 2004 and all parties agreed on the site on Westhill Road North. A2W commenced negotiations with the landowner and started drawing up proposals for the site. Once the proposals had started to take shape, A2W with the RHE organised a drop-in to discuss the proposal with residents of the parish. This was an important event that gave local people an opportunity to express support for the scheme as well as objections. Some useful suggestions were made about design and layouts, that A2W were then able to incorporate. Over the following months, A2W worked on the design of the scheme and applied for funding. The RHE kept in regular contact with them and the Parish Council. The RHE also provided updates for the parish magazine to keep the community informed of progress. During this period, a small number of people made regular and vociferous objections to the project. The Parish Council, RHE, Housing Association and City Council kept in close contact, and met the objectors to try to both take on board any constructive criticisms and to allay their concerns. In February 2006, the planning application was considered at the City Council Planning Committee. Objections were made, but it was unanimously approved. 4 / 5 The scheme of 10 affordable homes, 6 rented and 4 shared-ownership started on site in March 2006. In December 2006, the RHE organised a meeting with a lettings officer of Winchester City Council, the A2W’s housing officer and the Parish Council, in response to concerns voiced by the Parish Council that potential applicants were receiving unclear or conflicting advice about possible nominations to the scheme. The nominations process was clarified. The scheme was completed in February 2007 and the official opening organised by A2W took place on 10 March 2007, attended by representatives of South Wonston’s twin village in France, La Frenaye.