90% of country homes too dear for locals

Jul 24 2008 by William Green, The Journal

There is no doubt it would be very difficult for young first-time buyers

IN the picturesque Northumberland commuter village of Stannington three exclusive, six-bedroom houses stand as a symbol of the rural property price crisis.

Built a year ago and on the market for £665,000, the homes have failed to find buyers among affluent incomers snapping up countryside properties – and are a million miles away from the price range of most locals.

The average price of a three-bedroom house in Stannington is £330,000 and yesterday local people admitted the village, a few miles south of Morpeth, was out of reach for the vast majority of first-time buyers.

Local vicar Colin Gough said: "We have been hoping for some affordable housing to be provided in developments at St Mary’s and Hepscott, but with the current difficulties in the building industry things seem to have gone a bit quiet.

"A balanced community needs a balance in property prices, but it is true that prices have gone up quite fast here in the last three years.

"There is not much housing in Stannington you would regard as suitable for first-time purchasers.’’

Publican Alan Stone, who moved to the village 20 years ago, said: "There is no doubt it would be very difficult for young first-time buyers. Some local young people working on farms are still living at home.

"On the other hand, I could not see most 25-year-olds wanting to live here, because there is just not enough for them.’’

Young excluded

RURAL areas will become "exclusive enclaves of the elderly and wealthy" unless planning restrictions on affordable housing are eased, according to the report.

Matthew Taylor called for strictly-controlled housing developments with the caveat that they were sold to local workers.

He said: "Endless bland housing estates crammed on to the edge of towns are often unattractive, they fail to deliver local services, shops or open spaces."

In his report for the Prime Minister, he said residents became car-dependent and suggested using some greenfield land to ensure people had gardens.

Mr Taylor recommended a locally-led initiative for smaller communities, but urged ministers to test new rules limiting development of holiday homes.

His also demanded more powers for local councils and a planning shake-up because the current system was too "urban-centric" and blocked vital rural developments.

But he warned a new levy on developers to pay for infrastructure work could make affordable homes unviable.

The Government said it had a national target of 10,300 new affordable homes in small rural communities over three years. It insisted councils already had powers to support affordable housing and 251 had an extra £100m last year thanks to changes in council tax discount for second homes.

Nurture business to lift wages

MINISTERS have been urged to draw up policies to boost business in the countryside.

Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor wants ministers to recognise all forms of business – including internet companies – can be good for rural areas.

In his report, he called for an end to planning rules and practices that encourage small rural firms to move into urban centres as soon as they grow.

Ministers should also consider a more flexible approach to work-based extensions to homes to underpin home working, especially when firms grow and take on their first employees.

And housing associations should scrap bans on people setting up home-based companies in social and affordable property.

Mr Taylor told The Journal good-quality jobs were vital and said traditional low-wage rural employment was in decline.

His report comes after the Government-created Commission for Rural Communities earlier this year revealed rural unemployment in the North East tops 25%.

Hourly pay in parts of Northumberland and County Durham were as low as £6 compared with the English average of £13.61 in 2007.

Residents in urban areas earn up to £130 more a week.

The Government said it was investing £3.9bn in rural development in England and would now look at the proposals in detail.