Soaring cost of homes 'will wipe out village life'

The National Housing Federation, the National Farmers Union and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs say a whole generation of young people in rural areas are being priced out of country life by soaring house prices and low pay, unable to compete with wealthy commuters and second-home owners for the limited housing stock available.

House prices in rural England have more than doubled during the past decade to average around 257,000 – more than 30,000 higher than the average home nationwide. But the average salary for people working in the countryside is just 21,000, compared with 24,000 nationally.

The groups said the high cost of housing means the vast majority of people in rural areas have little hope of ever being able to afford to buy a property where they live.

Research carried out for the National Housing Federation – the body representing Britain's not-for-profit housing associations – found that 65 per cent of people in rural England thought local families and young people were being priced out of villages and market towns by the high cost of property.

A further 63 per cent thought there was a shortage of affordable homes for local people in their village, with 70 per cent saying they would support plans to build a small number of affordable properties for local people in their area.

David Orr, the federation's chief executive, said: "Unless we build more affordable homes for the local families who sustain and enrich village life, then we must accept that traditional community life will be wiped out within a generation in many areas."

On Saturday the Yorkshire Post revealed the scale of the housing crisis which Yorkshire as a whole is now facing, with local authorities failing almost without exception to meet their targets for new affordable homes and the Government slashing support for the industry.

Only 2,500 of the 15,000 affordable homes Yorkshire requires have been built so far, with the construction industry having been hit hard by the financial crisis and the Government forced to reign in spending.

Mr Orr said the impact was being most keenly felt in rural areas, with hundreds of country pubs and shops closing every year, and village schools closing at the rate of one a month due to declining demand as local families are priced out of the area by commuters and second home owners.

The federation's study found more than a third of people in rural communities thought key services, such as village shops, post offices and pubs, had declined during the past five years, while 31 per cent thought second home owners had a negative impact on community life.

One in five people also thought the number of second homes in their community had increased during the past five years.

"Local authorities need to assess just how many affordable homes are needed in each rural ward, and draw up action plans to get those homes delivered, before more small village schools are closed and traditional village life dies on its feet." Mr Orr said.

The federation said the number of people on waiting lists for affordable housing in England has now soared to 750,000, and estimates nearly 100,000 new affordable homes need to be built in rural areas across the country during the coming 10 years to meet demand.