Key stakeholders attended the 2025 Rural Housing Conference to support urgent action on the rural housing crisis. With rising prices and limited affordable homes, the event highlighted the vital role of Rural Housing Enablers and the need for long-term investment to secure thriving rural communities.
We all know how important it is for children to have a safe, stable place to call home. But a recent report by the Children’s Commissioner has put that into sharp focus - showing just how much housing instability can affect children’s education. And in rural areas, where these issues are often hidden, the impact can be even greater.
The Government’s recent announcement of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill is being hailed as the start of the “biggest building boom” in a generation. With an aim to deliver 1.5 million new homes and fast-track key infrastructure projects across the UK, the Bill promises sweeping changes to the way developments both urban and rural take shape.
The UK housing crisis has a continued presence in our headlines, and rural communities are among those feeling the strain the most. These rural areas are facing a growing affordability gap, leaving many residents struggling to find suitable housing. Our Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) Ollie Brice plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges by promoting and developing affordable housing in areas where it’s needed most.
English Rural Housing Association, in collaboration with a panel of rural experts and advocates, has launched a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the perception of affordable rural housing. The publication, titled 'A Design Guide: Building Tomorrow's Rural Communities', was officially released on Friday, 5th July as part of Rural Housing Week 2024.
In an effort to uplift rural areas and assist local communities, the government has initiated the Unleashing Rural Opportunity Strategy. As a part of this strategy, a network of Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs) have been appointed across England where a need to support the provision of rural homes through Rural Exception Sites. The Rural Housing Enablers will be in post until March 2025 to address the critical need for affordable housing in rural England.
Our partners at ACRE have shared this press release (below) about growing concerns over the lack of new housing in rural communities – and it makes for interesting reading.
Many of you reading this will know about ThinkingFuel, our collective heating oil buying scheme. And you’ll know that the aim is to help support householders across Norfolk who depend on heating oil to heat their homes, and for whom the unregulated cost of heating oil is a constant worry.
Here at CAN we work closely with Anglian Water on their ‘Love Every Drop’ water conservation campaign. It’s essential to making our communities in Norfolk sustainable for the future. https://www.waterwise.org.uk/As part of this, Waterwise, the national body that promotes water saving good practice, is asking everyone to sign up to their ‘Save 2021 litres in 2021’ pledge.