How Affordable Rural Homes Change Lives & Communities (North/East Hertfordshire Focus)

English Rural held the third in a series of planned, regional webinars, focussing on how affordable rural housing changes lives and communities. The third session had a particular focus on North and East Hertfordshire. Please do watch the video below and find out how small-scale, affordable rural homes really do change lives:

You can also download our infographic which is packed with stats drawing on recent research, all in one convenient place! What more do you need to convince people of the need for affordable rural homes? Links to the original research can also be found in the post.

Additionally, why not download the newly launched Parish Councillors’ Guide to Affordable Rural Housing to find out how you can make a difference to your community?

Who will you hear from in the video?

✅ Local Authority: What role does the local authority play and how can it support rural communities that want to take action and deliver affordable homes?  Debbie Ealand, Housing Supply Officer at North Herts Council, offers her perspective.
✅ Parish Council: How do Parish Councils ensure the local community is represented and benefit from affordable rural homes? Parish Council Chair, Cllr Stephen Hayward gives a unique perspective on getting affordable rural homes built.
✅ A Rural Housing Enabler (RHE): What is the role of the Rural Housing Enabler? What challenges and opportunities do they face in getting affordable rural homes built?  Giles Meredith, Rural Housing Enabler & Accredited Community Led Housing Adviser from CDA Herts gives his perspective on the role of a RHE in the process.
✅ A Landowner: Why make land available for local-needs housing?  Henry Bryant, a local landowner, talks us through how he wanted to give something back to his village.
✅ An English Rural Resident: How did it change their life and their community?  Sharon, one of our residents, gives a moving story about how being able to live in an affordable rural home changed her life.

What will you find out?

✅ How communities benefit from affordable rural housing
✅ That homes are small-scale, sympathetically designed and developed in partnership with the local community
✅ Why affordable housing is vital to future generations living in the village
✅ Why it’s important for landowners to be part of the process
✅ How Parish Councils can play a vital role to getting homes built
✅ How Local Authorities play a part in making things happen
✅ How affordable rural housing changes lives

Why are we running these sessions?

We are in the midst of a housing crisis that is particularly acute in rural areas. Many local shops, pubs, schools and businesses are being forced to close simply because people cannot afford to live in their local rural community. We need these communities to thrive again for generations to come. By building small-scale developments of affordable homes, we give people the opportunity to remain in the communities they were brought up in and to live close to their jobs, families and support networks. In short, we need to build more homes in communities who need them.  We also need to nurture positive relationships with those who can make it happen.

The sessions will feature a range of speakers who will talk about the benefits of affordable rural housing from their own perspective. Proposed speakers will include Local Authorities, Parish Councils, landowners, and residents. The sessions will use a mix of live presentations, video, and Q&As.

Why partner with English Rural?

✅ Genuinely affordable rural homes
✅ Small footprint – an average of only six homes per village
✅ Villages invite us in – we work with and for the local community
✅ Award-winning design and construction
✅ Only people with a connection to the village can ever live in our homes
✅ Highest regulatory gradings of V1 (Viability) and G1 (Governance)