The Cheshire West and Chester Rural Housing Strategy produced in 2011 provides a detailed route-map for the delivery of housing across the rural area. The Rural Housing Action Plan thatformed part of the strategy was revised in 2016. The Rural areas of Cheshire West and Chester support a large proportion of the Borough’s population. This population and in particular the number of households is set to increase in the future according to the latest ONS Household projections. The Rural Housing Strategy was recently reviewed.
Looking at the housing characteristics of the rural area as a whole it is clear that a common set of core issues exist which serve to define the operation of markets at a settlement and neighbourhood level:
- high demand for all tenures of housing demonstrated in notably high average house prices and a significant backlog of households in need on waiting lists;
- a significant shortage of affordable housing to meet local need;
- a stock profile which is skewed towards larger properties;
- a limited amount of housing land currently identified through the planning process and emerging evidence base (Draft SHLAA); and
- a demographic structure which includes an above average proportion of older person households, many of which currently under-occupy current properties which have the potential to house larger families;
Cheshire West and Chester’s Rural Growth Board, Team & Housing Teams have the following strategic objectives:
- Revitalise communities by enabling growth
- Delivering housing to meet specific needs
The Rural Growth Team, Rural Growth Board Members along with colleagues from CWAC Housing & Policy form the Rural Housing Strategy & Delivery Group meet regularly to undertake activities to achieve the above objectives. Currently work programmes include activities on:- Neighbourhood Plans, Housing Toolkits, Community Land Trusts, Self Build initiatives, affordable homes for families and older people.
Further information regarding Affordable Homes and the Self Build Register can be found using these links:-
