Advice for local communities, including parish and town councils, on assessing local housing need and developing community-led housing schemes.
1. Planning policies
Because the District Council attach great importance to supporting local communities to meet their own housing needs, it has adopted planning policies that enable the development of community-led (also known as ‘Local Needs') housing schemes. Further information may be found below and in the Affordable Housing Standing Advice Note.
2. Stratford-on-Avon Rural Housing Enabler Project
Since 2003, Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC) have been contracted to provide the services of a full-time Rural Housing Enabler covering Stratford-on-Avon District. This is a valuable independent resource available to provide advice and assistance to all parties interested in promoting Local Needs housing schemes. Again, further information may be found in the Affordable Housing Standing Advice Note.
3. Neighbourhood planning
The preparation of neighbourhood development plans provides an invaluable tool for local communities to help meet their housing and other needs. Amongst other things, they can be used to identify and allocate sites for housing schemes and specify the type of homes that should be built. Again, further information may be found in the Affordable Housing Standing Advice Note.
4. Local housing needs surveys
Local housing needs surveys are undertaken to determine the extent (if any) and nature of any unmet housing need – usually within a single parish. Further information may be found in the Affordable Housing Standing Advice Note and is also available from the Rural Housing Enabler.
5. Local Needs (community-led) housing schemes
Local communities are encouraged to bring forward community-led development schemes to meet local housing and possibly other community needs. Successful examples of such schemes already exist: see examples of case studies below.
Community-led schemes are sometimes also known as ‘Local Need' or ‘Local Choice' schemes. Their key features are that they are community-led, respond to an identified local need, and have community support – typically for affordable housing and/or ‘local market' housing.
Local communities interested in developing such schemes should contact Sarah Brooke-Taylor, the Rural Housing Enabler, at Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC), telephone 01789 842182 or 01789 472611, email sarahbt@wrccrural.org.uk. See also further information about neighbourhood planning.
Sarah can help communities to undertake parish housing needs surveys and identify suitable sites for development.
More information on how to progress local needs schemes and the role of WRCC can be found on its website and in the presentations from a Rural Housing Enabling event on 8 October 2024.
It is worth noting that parish and town councils, and other stakeholders attending rural housing enabling events jointly determined the local connection criteria that are included in all Section 106 agreements for local needs schemes.
6. Case studies
See also the case studies for Bearley, Broom, Wootton Wawen, Long Compton and Stretton on Fosse.
7. Find out more
Further information about our work can be found via the links below:
