England’s largest councils today call for the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing, as a new report reveals a dramatic rise in rural renting over the last decade.

Summary

“Constant tinkering of the planning system over the last decade has led to unstable and un-coordinated planning system.” 

Need to increase housing delivery of all tenures, with the report finding that schemes such as Help to Buy and First Homes have led to fewer properties for social rent being built than otherwise would have been.

Councils should also give autonomy to local councils to set their own thresholds and types of affordable housing that are most needed in their area as part of their Local Plans

Report recommends that the next government introduces ‘strategic planning’ back into the system. Such an approach would alleviate local concerns about overdevelopment and a dearth of infrastructure in some areas.

“This report does not suggest that we alleviate these issues by concreting over our countryside. Instead it sets out a number of important yet easily deliverable recommendations that, taken together, could accelerate the delivery of new homes of all tenures where there is most need.“

Press release

County Councils Network

The new research from the County Councils Network shows that the number of households in private and social rent has increased by over half a million in county and rural areas over the last decade, outpacing the increase in renting in London and the country’s other major cities.

Seen as the traditional location of home ownership, shire counties have seen a decrease in people purchasing homes over the last ten years, with house prices locking more and more people out of ownership. This has led to more people entering the rental market, including those in social rented accommodation – adding to pressure on local housing.

Download Housing in Counties here.

Warning that the planning system is a ‘state of flux’, councils are calling for the next government to set out a long-term plan for housing. This should include a renewed emphasis on delivering homes of all tenures, a greater focus on social housing, and a review of key policy areas, such as Right to Buy. In the short-term, the government should also pass the Renters’ Reform Bill as soon as possible to give extra protection to renters.

The report provides a ten year long deep-dive into housing trends  into 38 county and rural areas which home 25m people in England, and finds:

• Households renting either privately or through a social housing via a registered social landlord or a local authority in rural and county areas has increased by 19% between 2011 and 2021, a total of 550,000 extra households. This is higher than anywhere else in the country, including London and England’s major cities. Rented properties – both social and private – make up almost one third (31%) of all housing in counties now.
• There has been a dramatic rise in private renting in county areas and rural areas, with 450,000 extra households renting in 2021 compared to 2011 – a 31% increase, which is higher than London’s increase of 25%. Almost half of this increase (45%) were households in the South East and the East of England, suggesting more and more people have been priced out of London to the surrounding counties.
• At the same time, there are almost 200,000 fewer households who purchased a property in county areas over the last ten years, suggesting affordability is a worsening issue in rural and county locations.
• Property prices in county areas are the most unaffordable in England outside of London, with the average price now over £309,000. Despite strong wage growth over the last eight house prices have risen at a faster rate – and the average county property price is now 11.1 times higher than average annual wages.
• County communities face these challenges despite councils in those county and rural areas overseeing 606,000 extra homes delivered between 2018 and 2023, higher than the rest of the country combined. Of these, 42,000 were affordable homes – more than double than the rest of the country combined. However, England has not delivered the government’s stated target of 300,000 homes a year in any 12-month since the pledge was made in 2019.
• This rise in renting and unaffordability of properties has numerous impacts on county and rural councils. Waiting lists for council housing in those areas has increased by 10% between 2018 and 2023 (an increase of 40,000 households), temporary accommodation use is up by 52% over the last five years (an increase in over 6,000 households) and homelessness has risen 18% over the last three years (an increase of 4,500 people).

The report argues that despite best intentions, constant tinkering of the planning system over the last decade has led to unstable and un-coordinated planning system for local authorities to work with. With a general election expected to take place this year, councils are calling for stability and for the next administration to set out a long-term plan for housing, with local government a key player in discussions.

This long-term plan should include increasing housing delivery of all tenures, with the report finding that schemes such as Help to Buy and First Homes have led to a less properties for social rent being built than otherwise would have been. Therefore, both these policies should be reviewed.

The report recommends that any future national planning policy should promote the delivery of homes all tenures, rather than a focus on houses. This is especially true for large sites, which are more prevalent in county locations and city outskirts.

Councils should also give autonomy to local councils to set their own thresholds and types of affordable housing that are most needed in their area as part of their Local Plans, in recognition that different areas have differing needs.

The study also recommends that the next government introduces ‘strategic planning’ back into the system. This would bring together both planning and infrastructure authorities in 20 county areas in England where both types of council co-exist, in order to collaboratively plan for housing, infrastructure and employment in tandem and across a wider area. The report suggests that such an approach would alleviate local concerns about overdevelopment and a dearth of infrastructure in some areas, further removing a blockage to housing delivery.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Housing and Planning Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“It is widely accepted that the housing crisis is one that is worsening, with rising unaffordability locking hundreds of thousands out of getting onto the property ladder. This new data reveals the impact of this in rural and county areas: with the rise in people renting in these places outpacing even London and the major cities, whilst home ownership rates have gone into decline.

“This growing unaffordability impacts on council services too, tipping more people onto local authority housing waiting lists, into homelessness, and into temporary accommodation where costs are increasingly becoming exorbitant.

“This report does not suggest that we alleviate these issues by concreting over our countryside. Instead it sets out a number of important yet easily deliverable recommendations that, taken together, could accelerate the delivery of new homes of all tenures where there is most need.

“These challenges are in part due to a planning system that has been in a state of flux for a long time. The next government should set out a long-term plan for housing, incorporating the recommendations we have put forward and with councils a key consultee, ensuring buy-in from the sector.”

South Hams district councillors have called for a halt on the proposed Devon and Torbay devolution deal process until after the general election, whenever it comes, and county elections in May 2025.

Alison Stephenson, local democracy reporter www.radioexe.co.uk

Cllr John Birch (Lib Dem, Totnes) said the deal is “more of a power grab than devolution”  but the government is “on its last legs” and the political picture may look different both nationally and locally by the middle of next year.

The district councillors made the call as part of their response to the consultation on the deal and also raised concerns over lack of voting rights for the districts and the “extra layer of bureaucracy” which they said would “hamper the improvements of local services.”

The proposed county combined authority or CCA will be decided later this year, led by Devon County Council and Torbay Council, and could be implemented before Christmas. It will sit above the county council, district and parish councils.

It aims to give more power to local authorities on adult education, skills and transport and more cash for more affordable homes. With the deal comes £16 million to be spent by April next year, but future funding is unknown.

South Hams Council supports devolution in principle but has criticised the deal. Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) said the council should say no to the deal now.

“What’s the point of kicking it into the long grass? More money will be wasted,” she said.

“The government has sucked the money out of us and under this deal is offering it back in dribs and drabs with strings attached.

“It is curtailing how we work. A lot of what is being offered cuts across us as a housing authority and Devon as an education authority. It’s muddling up and messing up local authorities in a way that is not necessary.”

But council leader Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham) warned members not to “throw their toys out the pram and storm off” but to take a neutral view and keep their negotiation powers to get a better deal.

“Let’s take a mature position. We need devolution and I would be amazed if there were any councillors who didn’t believe in it. This may be first tiny step but we can influence it to get the kind of devolution we want.”

Cllr Nicky Hopwood (Con, Woolwell) is concerned where it leaves the South Hams, as Plymouth is not going to be part of deal.

“We share a joint local plan with Plymouth. Does it mean we will get nothing for housing, because we do relatively well now with Homes England?”

She said it isn’t right that Torbay Council gets three seats on the CCA as districts like East Devon are bigger than Torbay.

The eight district councils in Devon will share two seats and won’t be able to vote on major decisions, although the hope is that issues will be agreed by consensus rather than going to a vote.

Cllr David Hancock (Lib Dem,  South Brent) said local authorities which had adult education devolved to them had increased the number of people going through the system by 50 per cent and that meant better trained employees, better jobs and pay.

He said the skills’ budget would help the 20 per cent of people who are digitally illiterate to access services such as internet banking.

“I am positive about the adult education budget being devolved to the CCA. We need to show the government what a difference we can make to local residents and then we can ask for more and more again. This isn’t a great revolution into the promised land, but we need to keep going until we have got a genuine devolution.”

The consultation on devolution for the county ends on Sunday.

Writes Martin Shaw seatonmatters.org

Readers will remember that Labour decided some time back not to fight for our new Honiton & Sidmouth constituency in the General Election. Because of this, Labour will only be standing a ‘paper’ candidate, who has now been selected by the national party (because the party is not seriously contesting the seat, local members did not make the choice). Labour has announced that the candidate is Jake Bonetta (above), a former councillor, and in a big boost to Richard Foord’s Lib Dem campaign, he has written to all local Labour members to tell them that ‘Under no circumstances can we let the Tories win the seat, bringing them one MP closer to forming the next Government.’

Jake says that (rather than campaigning here) Labour members should join the campaign to win a seat in Plymouth: ‘our top priority must always be on our nearest “battleground seat”, Plymouth Moor View … we will be travelling [there] at least once a fortnight during the long campaign. .., it’s a great opportunity to continue supporting our Party in the seat that matters most, nearest to us. For those of you who can’t make canvassing in Plymouth Moor View, there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved in their campaign from home.’ 

Jake’s message is very responsible and should be welcomed by everyone who wants Richard Foord to be returned. Labour activists helped Richard win in the 2022 by-election, as he acknowledged, and could play a significant part in helping ensure that he, rather than the Tory carpetbagger, wins in the General Election.