Families are being 'driven out' of rural Dorset by record house prices
There is a shortage of genuinely affordable and social housing in rural Dorset say the CPRE
The state of “genuinely affordable” housing in rural parts of Dorset is in “crisis” according to the countryside charity (CPRE).
Rural house prices increased at almost twice the rate of those in urban areas between 2017 and 2022 and while the average cost of a home jumped 29% to £419,000, rural earnings increased by just 19% to an average of £25,600.
Research by the CPRE found that families are being driven out of the countryside by record house prices relative to wages and a shortage of affordable homes.
Rupert Hardy, Chair of North Dorset CPRE thinks the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns drove people out of the city and into the countryside where there were more things to do with nicer scenery.
He said: “Dorset saw a lot of people coming this way, so the shrinking pool of social housing and council housing has been made worse by an increase in incomers who are now using properties as second homes or short-term lets.”
Rural homelessness is up 40% since 2018 with 300,000 people waiting for social housing in England, a backlog that would take 89 years to clear at current rates of construction.
Current planning policies allow for the building of new ‘affordable’ homes to cost up to 80% of market value which in Dorset “is anything but affordable”.
Rupert Hardy called for some key changes: “We would like affordable housing redefined so its directly linked to average local income.
“We'd also like the next government to implement ambitious targets for the construction of socially rented home and then we’d like to see restrictions on the sale of affordable housing to ensure properties continue to be used by local workers.”
Local authorities have not replaced social housing at the rate properties have been sold under the Right to Buy policy, leading to a chronic shortage of housing for people who need it most.
Mr Hardy blames developers for this shortage: “They are meant to build around 30% affordable housing in each development, but often they backtrack on those commitments after getting planning approval.
We would like this tightened up so we can see more starter homes or retirement flats, not four-bedroom luxury homes.”