Cambridgeshire ACRE Housing Need Survey Results Report for Grantchester Survey undertaken in September 2015 (Source: www.grantchester.org.uk) CONTENTS PAGE CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 3 Background to Affordable Rural Housing .................................................................................. 3 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 3 Grantchester Parish ................................................................................................................... 4 Local Income Levels and Affordability ....................................................................................... 7 RESULTS FROM PART ONE: VIEWS ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND IDENTIFYING THOSE IN HOUSING NEED .......................................................................... 11 Views on Affordable Housing Development in Grantchester .................................................. 11 Suitability of Current Home ..................................................................................................... 13 RESULTS FROM PART TWO: IDENTIFYING CIRCUMSTANCES AND REQUIREMENTS ........... 15 Local Connection to Grantchester ........................................................................................... 15 Household Composition ........................................................................................................... 16 Property Type, Size and Tenure .............................................................................................. 17 SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION .............................................................................. 17 Pre-Existing Evidence from the Housing Register .................................................................... 17 Findings from Housing Needs Survey....................................................................................... 18 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 18 Recommendation ..................................................................................................................... 18 APPENDIX 1 – CHOICE BASED LETTINGS AND LOW COST HOME OWNERSHIP .................. 19 Page 2 of 19 CONTEXT AND METHODOLOGY Background to Affordable Rural Housing Affordable housing is housing made available for either rent or shared ownership, based on the evidence of need, to those unable to afford market prices. One approach to delivering affordable homes in rural areas is through rural exception site policy. A rural exception site is a site used specifically for affordable housing in a small rural community that would not normally be used for housing because it is subject to policies of restraint. Affordable housing on rural exception sites must remain as affordable housing in perpetuity and planning conditions and legal agreements are used to prioritise the occupation of property to people falling within categories of need and who can prove a local connection through family, residence or work. To be eligible for rental properties, applicants must complete an application form to join the local Housing Register and they would then be able to bid for properties through the choice based lettings scheme. To be eligible for low cost shared ownership properties, applicants must apply to the local Housing Register and then apply directly through the local Help to Buy Agent. You can read more about choice based lettings and low cost home ownership in Appendix 1. Context Cambridgeshire ACRE was commissioned to carry out a Housing Needs Survey in Grantchester Parish in early August 2015 on behalf of Grantchester Parish Council. Our surveys are normally sponsored by one of the Housing Associations in the Cambridgeshire Rural Affordable Housing Partnership. However, in this case the Parish Council did not want to commit at this stage to working with any particular Housing Association. Therefore, the Parish Council met the costs of the survey. The aim of the survey was to gauge opinion on the value of developing affordable homes for local people in the parish and to determine the scale and nature of affordable housing need. Methodology Survey packs were posted to all residential addresses in the parish in September 2015. The packs were posted by hand, by volunteers from the parish. The survey packs included covering letters from Cambridgeshire ACRE and Grantchester Parish Council, a questionnaire, a FAQ sheet on rural affordable housing and a postage paid envelope for returned forms. The questionnaire was divided into two sections: Part One of the survey form contained questions to identify those who believe they have a housing need. Respondents were also asked if they supported the idea of building a small affordable housing development in the village. All households were asked to complete this section. Page 3 of 19 Part Two of the survey form contained questions on household circumstances and housing requirements. This part was only completed by those households who consider their current accommodation to be unsuitable. The closing date for the survey was Friday 25 September 2015. It is estimated that 258 forms were distributed. In total, 68 completed forms were returned. Therefore the Housing Needs Survey achieved a response rate of 26 per cent. Most of our Housing Needs Surveys achieve a response rate of between 20 and 30 per cent. Grantchester Parish Grantchester is a small rural parish two miles south west of Cambridge. The three arterial roads leading out of Grantchester connect to the A14 (west), Cambridge (north east) and Trumpington (south east). Although very close to Cambridge city, Grantchester retains a very strong rural identity, helped by the green gap created by Grantchester Meadows. Page 4 of 19 Grantchester has a population of 570 residents living in 270 dwellings.1 The population has been virtually static for the last 25 years.2 This is the result of the lack of development activity. There were only six dwellings completed over the period 2002-2014. And there were no further commitments for additional dwellings as of March 2014.3 Grantchester Meadows (© Copyright John Grantchester Mill Pond (© Copyright Martin Pearman and Sutton and licensed for reuse under this Creative licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence) Commons Licence) Services are limited in Grantchester. The village does still retain four pubs and a tea room alongside a church, village hall and recreation ground. However, there are no shops (although discussions are underway to address this), schools or health facilities. The catchment schools are Barton C of E Primary School and Comberton Village College. Grantchester has a distinctive socio-economic profile and is arguably more balanced than many rural communities in Cambridgeshire. The quality of the natural and built environment is undoubtedly a major attraction for professional workers who can afford the high house prices. However, the parish retains an unusually large social housing stock which has enabled a relatively high proportion of people in lower income households to remain in the village. The working age employment rate is high in Grantchester. There is a particularly high proportion of people employed in public services (42 per cent) compared to the England average (28 per cent). Sixty five per cent of employed people work in managerial, professional and associate occupations (41 per cent in England). The corollary is that there are low levels of people working in elementary occupations. There is also a high level of self- employment.4 Benefit dependency levels are low for both working age and retired populations. Household earnings are well above the Cambridgeshire and national averages although the gap 1 ‘Cambridgeshire Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates: mid-2013’, Cambridgeshire County Council, December 2014 2 Ibid and Cambridgeshire Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates: 1991-2010’, Cambridgeshire County Council, July 2011 3 ‘Housing Development in Cambridgeshire 2013/14’, (Table H1.2 & H2.2), Cambridgeshire County Council, August 2013 4 ‘Rural community profile for Grantchester (Parish)’, ACRE/OCSI, October 2013 Page 5 of 19 diminishes significantly when housing costs are taken into account. One area where Grantchester fares badly is the health care needs of its elderly population. It has a slightly higher level of older people with social care needs (receiving Attendance Allowance) and, in more general terms, a higher proportion of people with a limiting long-term illness. This is entirely due to the high proportion of elderly people in the parish (see below).5 Figure 1: Grantchester population by age 18% 16% 14% 12% 10% 8% Population 6% 4% 2% 0% 0 to 4 5 to 9 10 to 15 to 20 to 25 to 30 to 35 to 40 to 45 to 50 to 55 to 60 to 65 to 70 to 75+ 14 19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 69 74 Age Grantchester South Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire ‘Parish Profile Data: Grantchester’, Cambridgeshire County Council Research Group, October 2014 (taken from 2001 Census, QS103EW) Grantchester has a very high proportion of its population aged over 75 and a relatively high proportion aged over 65. In contrast there are low levels of pre-school children,