This news article was first published on the Cambridgeshire ACRE website. 

Rural Cambridgeshire is a vibrant part of the UK, filled with rich history, stunning landscapes and closely-knit communities. However, many of these communities face increasing challenges due to a shortage of affordable housing. High property prices, limited development opportunities and growing demand for rural living have left many local residents struggling to secure homes. Cambridgeshire ACRE is at the forefront of addressing these challenges and Housing Needs Surveys are a key tool in our efforts.

What Is a Housing Needs Survey?

A Housing Needs Survey is a powerful way to assess local housing requirements systematically. It involves distributing an anonymous questionnaire to every household in a parish, allowing residents to share their specific housing challenges and aspirations. The results provide evidence-based insights into the type and number of homes needed and the affordability challenges faced by the community.

Why Are Housing Needs Surveys Essential for Rural Cambridgeshire?

Understanding Local Challenges

Cambridgeshire’s rural communities each have unique housing needs. For instance, some villages may require affordable rental homes for young families, while others may need homes designed for older residents wishing to downsize. A Housing Needs Survey ensures the specific needs of each parish are identified and addressed.

Supporting Rural Exception Sites

Surveys play a critical role in supporting Rural Exception Sites, which allow for small-scale affordable housing developments on land not normally available for housing. These developments provide homes for local people with strong connections to the community. Cambridgeshire ACRE regularly works with parishes to facilitate such projects, ensuring they are tailored to meet local needs.

Strengthening The Evidence Base For Planning

Local authorities require clear evidence to approve housing developments. Housing Needs Surveys commissioned through Cambridgeshire ACRE provide robust, independent data that supports planning applications and demonstrates the necessity of affordable housing for the long-term sustainability of rural villages.

Enhancing Community Engagement

Engaging residents in the survey process fosters trust and collaboration. It dispels misconceptions about affordable housing and allows councils to communicate the benefits of new developments. Cambridgeshire ACRE provides guidance on this process, helping parishes build consensus.

Empowering Local Leadership

As part of our commitment to empowering local leaders, Cambridgeshire ACRE works closely with Parish Councils, equipping them with the tools and knowledge to address housing challenges effectively. Housing Needs Surveys are often the first step in transforming aspirations into actionable projects.

Sustaining Local Economies

Affordable housing ensures that key workers, young families and older residents can remain in their communities, supporting local businesses, schools and services. In Cambridgeshire, retaining a local workforce is vital for the region’s economic health.

Cambridgeshire ACRE’s Role

At Cambridgeshire ACRE, we offer tailored support to Parish Councils undertaking Housing Needs Surveys. From commissioning surveys to analysing results, we guide councils through every step. Our experience in rural housing ensures that parishes receive actionable recommendations based on the unique challenges they face.

Success Stories

Cambridgeshire ACRE has already supported numerous parishes in delivering affordable housing. For example, in villages like Colne and Willingham, Housing Needs Surveys identified critical gaps, leading to successful developments that have revitalised these communities.

Take The First Step

If you’re a Parish Council in Cambridgeshire concerned about local housing challenges, Cambridgeshire ACRE is here to help. A Housing Needs Survey is not just a report—it’s a roadmap to a thriving future for your community. Let’s work together to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live and work in the place they call home. A short brochure explaining our work is available here.

For more information, contact Gary Roffey at Cambridgeshire ACRE to learn how we can support your parish in commissioning a Housing Needs Survey and addressing rural housing challenges. Together, we can make a difference.

This article was first posted on the Cambridgeshire ACRE website.

The ACRE Network works to create thriving, inclusive and sustainable rural communities that are economically active and support the services they need.

The new Government has put economic growth at the heart of its five missions. Much of its path to this growth involves the planning system, by meeting housing need, and through development of infrastructure. In its words: “Labour will seek involvement from industry, trade unions, and civil society in our plans for growth, so they can contribute to building a stronger economy in all parts of the country”. Rural areas cover 90% of England and contain 17% of the population, roughly the same number as London. If ‘rural’ was a region it would be second only to London in its economic size.

A consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has been undertaken alongside several initiatives concerning New Towns, Green Belt policy, amendments to house building targets and calculation, and greater emphasis on social and affordable housing. The ACRE Network (collectively and as individual members) has commented on changes to the NPPF but is also concerned about the impact on rural communities from others of this raft of policies. There are also policy initiatives that have recently been under consideration but may not now be progressed, despite being consistent with the Government’s overall mission.

It is essential that Neighbourhood Planning policy is further developed and moves beyond mainly considering where housing will be located to become a positive way of enabling rural communities to provide for all their residents’ needs. This can help them consider growth at the very local scale, adapt to local impacts of climate change, contribute to the country’s climate change mitigation strategy and manage local ‘nature-based’ solutions to both.

Cambridgeshire ACRE support the emphasis that a new Government has put on social and affordable housing but would like to see much greater commitment to achieving this in rural communities, as well as in major settlements, New Towns and urban extensions. In this context it is essential that the definition of affordability is urgently amended so that homes are only described as ‘affordable’ if this means both in perpetuity and related directly to what local people can actually afford.

The charity also supported proposals to enable regulation of second homes and short term lets to retain housing stock for local communities. They strongly encourage the new Government to pursue this policy making it possible for Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to ensure local housing is not lost to people working in the local economy.

Cambridgeshire ACRE strongly encourage the development of an England land use strategy; but only if this is fully integrated into the whole planning system. Restoration of strategic planning over larger areas than single LPAs is a welcome start. Rural communities can make a significant contribution to both housing and wider economy economic growth, but only if they are properly supported with services and infrastructure. However, both strategic and local planning authorities must be given a more robust policy basis for ‘sustainable development’; one that does not simplistically equate ‘urban and dense’ with ‘sustainable’. The current definition in the NPPF takes little account of the contribution that development / growth can make to ensuring smaller communities become increasingly sustainable in terms of local services, schools, jobs, social cohesion, reduced travel needs and inter-generational support.

The Government has put most emphasis on delivering social and affordable housing ‘at scale’ and ‘at pace’. Whilst Cambridgeshire ACRE agree, they are also very concerned that this appears to apply solely to New Towns, urban extensions, and ‘grey belt’ locations. Every rural community in England, including those within designated landscapes, must be given the opportunity to provide housing and infrastructure for all who need it. The development process in these areas will, however, require energy to be allocated to engaging communities in the details and design of local schemes. We agree this engagement must be over ‘what and how’, not ‘if’, development will occur. The ACRE Network stands ready, including through the Rural Housing Enabler programme, the network of Community Led Housing Advisors, and forms of community-led planning to help make this a reality.

Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation commissions more support from Eastern Community Homes to help bring forward community-led housing.

Wayshaper is a decision-making toolkit for community led housing groups. It has been created to help accelerate the planning of community led housing projects by providing a framework for informed decision-making.