Advice for local communities, including parish and town councils, on assessing local housing need and developing community-led housing schemes.
Links to additional sources of information may be found towards the end of this page.
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
From 2003 until 2025, Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC) were contracted to provide the services of a full-time Rural Housing Enabler covering Stratford-on-Avon District. With the unexpected closure of WRCC in December 2025 the service ceased to operate. However, the District Council is currently considering options for the resumption of a rural housing enabling service. In the meantime, further information for local communities wishing to pursue their own initiatives in this area 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.
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.
See also further information about neighbourhood planning.
More information on how to progress local needs schemes can be found in the presentations from a Rural Housing Enabling event on 8 October 2024.
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:
Page last updated on 22/12/2025