Baroness Young’s comments reflect the concerns in CPRE’s recent report on Viable Villages. This report reveals how developers are using a loophole to renege on agreed affordable housing quotas.

This year’s CPRE AGM, held at the Renishaw Innovation Centre near Wotton-under-Edge, enjoyed record numbers of attendees. Affordable housing was at the top of the agenda and the subject of most members’ questions. Professor Broadfoot, Chair of CPRE Gloucestershire said, “It is clear that CPRE members, and the general public, are very concerned about the lack of affordable housing for all ages. Our research shows that developers are using viability loopholes to reduce the number of affordable houses they provide”. Professor Broadfoot continues, “House prices in rural Gloucestershire are often higher, although wages are lower, and the lack of affordable housing is driving out families, young people and older generations. No wonder we are seeing shops, banks and post offices closing at an alarming rate”.

Viable Villages is a report recently released jointly by the housing charity, Shelter and CPRE. It concludes that the “crisis of affordable housing supply in rural settings is poorly understood, and is not discussed with anything like the urgency it deserves. Shelter and CPRE are addressing this gap, using new research across eight rural local authorities, to shine a light on the impact of viability assessments on the countryside ahead of the government’s review of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).”

CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) is a charity dedicated to the protection of the rural landscape and rural life for future generations. The Gloucestershire Branch works to protect, promote and enhance our county towns and countryside by influencing planning policy, supporting the views and work of those who live in rural locations and ensuring land is not lost forever to poor quality development.