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ID sylw: 108683

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Stratford-on-Avon District Social Inclusion Partnership

Draft Policy Direction 1 - Meeting South Warwickshire's Sustainable Development Requirements Rural development is a challenge, it requires greater reliance on dwindling rural services and often leaves the VCS to step in and ensure equality of access to services. Consideration should be made to whether the housing
needs of more vulnerable, less mobile groups that rely most significantly on the provision or public and VCS services to maintain their health and wellbeing, access services and employment, should have housing in these
more rural locations. A more sustainable solution for this group may be to seek a greater proportion of social housing in urban areas in close proximity to existing services and a lesser proportion in rurally isolated areas.
Rural development, in respect of these more socially excluded groups, can present challenges around access to employment, affordable childcare, supportive relationships for childcare/social care and similar, social and support networks etc. etc. Many poorer households are wholly reliant on public transport or lifts and therefore can be at risk of significant social exclusion because of moving to a more rural settlement, especially if infrastructure is not in place at the same time as the development of the social housing.
Comments in respect of rural exception sites:
In response to PD-1, would it be possible to promote the opportunity for using Rural Exception Sites as a way to deliver more affordable rural housing schemes? Our experience shows that there are two types of homes that are usually found to be missing within the rural context - small (2 bedroom) bungalows for older persons to downsize to, and small (2 bedroom) houses for young families. Both of these groups benefit from the housing advantages presented by Rural Exception Sites.
Furthermore, older persons often prefer to remain with the local area to benefit from support networks they have established over a number of years but wish to do so in a smaller home. And by enabling younger families to
remain in or return to rural areas, Local Needs Homes on Rural Exception Sites ensure a steady stream of people who can sustain local businesses and
facilities, which contributes to the longer-term viability and stability of the community.
Rural communities need to be continually adjusted and transformed to make them attractive places to live and work, and to stabilise the population. Local Needs housing, developed at a small scale and with local support on Rural Exception Sites, is one way of attaining this.