Steve Hesmondhalgh: Helping to build brighter future for rural communities

The coalition Government has made a forceful argument that economic regeneration will be led by the UK’s housing and construction industry. With this in mind, hidden behind the headlines about turning high street shops into houses, are proposals that would allow farm buildings to be converted into homes, without the need for planning permission.

It’s a radical change and one that may, despite flying in the face of the rural Nimby contingent’s campaigns to stop new development in their villages, lead to the creation of more much-needed homes in rural areas.

For many in the countryside the increase in residential schemes will come as a shock. We have seen fewer barn conversions in the last decade, partly as a result of the previous Government’s attempts to promote its dreaded sustainability agenda. As a direct result of these misguided policies, less housing has been created in rural communities and a huge gulf has emerged between the dwindling stock of affordable houses available and the growing numbers of young families desperately in need of rural homes.

The bravery of this proposed shake up of the planning laws shows a commitment to stimulating the wider economy by a coalition that is prepared to throw away agreed policies and established planning principles in the cause of economic recovery.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), whose 34,000 members own around half of the countryside in England and Wales, have, along with the National Farmers’ Union, been quick off the mark in issuing statements on the widespread benefits the Government’s proposals are expected to bring.

The CLA have been lobbying for years for reforms to the planning rules on barn conversions. They feel that giving free rein to farmers and landowners to transform their costly-to-maintain agricultural buildings would provide a much needed boost to the rural economy at the same time as addressing the shortage of affordable housing in rural areas.

And they are right. The changes could enable conversions, external alterations and even the rebuilding of farm buildings to create new homes. If you live in a rural area, look out of your window. If you see a farm building, you may soon be looking at a house! But then again, how many young families in rural areas do you know who can’t find an affordable home?

At this stage, the proposed changes are out to consultation, and there is no doubt that the middle class, vocal Nimbys out there will have plenty to say. But the little-heard argument – that the anti-development stance of the well organised, vocal “incomers” in their rural idylls is itself partly to blame for the decline of those communities – is a convincing one, and radical changes of this type are long overdue.

The statistics on the crisis in affordable housing that is blighting rural Yorkshire speak for themselves. According to the National Housing Federation, the average price of a property in rural North Yorkshire is a steep £213,664, while the average salary stands at a meagre £19,830. There are farmers I meet in rural areas who need both a boost to their farm income, and homes for their children. Unable to afford the lofty prices of a rural home of their own, the offspring of farming families are increasingly faced with the bleak choice of either opting for cheaper accommodation in an urban environment, or living in limbo with their parents. Unless we build houses in these areas, the villages throughout Yorkshire will continue to be dominated by a wealthy retired majority. House prices go up, and availability goes down.

It’s no secret that this is the very same wealthy rural majority that voted in the current Conservative-led coalition, a fact that makes the Government’s proposals even more audacious. With an agenda that catapults both rural regeneration and affordable housing to its rightful place, high above the interests of middle class Tory voters, it will be interesting to see whether a radical policy
like this will slip in under the radar.

The last time the Government consulted on changes in the regulations around converting offices to houses, over half the councils in England objected. They applied to “opt-out” but were ignored. That change in law came in last May. If the Government is bold, we might expect these latest changes to take effect in six-to-12 months, or sooner. I will be watching the headlines with interest.

*Steve Hesmondhalgh is a town planning consultant, based in rural North Yorkshire.