North Yorkshire and East Riding Rural Housing Enabler Network

The North Yorkshire and East Riding Rural Housing Enabler Network, sponsored by eight local authorities, combined forces with Rural Action Yorkshire (now Communities First Yorkshire) in early 2016 to commission a community-led housing scoping study
Funding for the study was provided by Nationwide Foundation, the UK Cohousing Network, the Rural Housing Enabler Network and North Star Housing Group
The study was completed in January 2017. Only one community-led housing scheme was being planned across the whole area at the start of the study; by the end 12 pilot projects had been identified across a large geographical area
The study process covered all of the 10 steps highlighted above
Community and stakeholder consultation was a key feature of the project at every stage of this process
74 Town and Parish Councils responded positively to a survey
Just before the study was completed, seven of the eight local authorities in North Yorkshire and East Riding received a total allocation of £6.2 million from the 2016/17 Community Housing Fund; the study was therefore very well timed
These local authorities have now pooled 3% of this funding to establish a technical support hub for community-led housing across North and East Yorkshire

Demand for community-led housing is often hidden; many communities are unaware of the concept, but respond positively when they understand what it can do to solve some of their housing problems
The North and East Yorkshire study showed that, in some rural areas, owners of large estates and farmers may be prepared to sell land for community led housing that they would not sell for other forms of affordable or market housing
Local authorities can pool their resources to provide effective support for community-led housing initiatives
Rural Housing Enabler teams, where they still exist, can be an excellent platform for promoting community-led housing

For information on the emerging technical support hub for community-led housing, contact Sarah.Hall@hambleton.gov.uk

Published in March 2018

N. Yorkshire & E. Riding Rural Housing Enablers