The Rural Housing Project (RHP) aims to provide new affordable housing for people with a strong local connection to the area. It provides independent advice on delivering affordable rural housing across the whole of North Devon and West Somerset, including Exmoor. It does this by working with communities and Parish Councils to identify local housing need, then working as with them, district councils, landowners, housing associations and others, to ensure that housing is delivered. All new housing will be for people with a strong local connection, whether that be through living and working in the area, needing to move back to a community after some time away, or needing to live close to immediate family to provide support and care to local people.
The detail of who qualifies for such housing varies according to where people live, as this is controlled by planning policies of the local planning authorities. There are three sections to deal with this, covering those parishes:
- Primarily in the Exmoor National Park
- In West Somerset (but outside the National Park)
- In North Devon (but outside the National Park)
Anyone interested in applying for such housing should go to the appropriate section of the website and follow the links. In most instances it will be necessary to be registered for housing with North Devon Council or West Somerset Council.
Planning policies will only apply for new housing delivered under planning permissions granted since the adoption of the current Local Plans. There remains a significant amount of affordable housing which predates those policies, which may have different restrictions. This housing is accessed in the usual way through the housing registers of the District Councils.
The RHP is funded by a broad partnership of : Devon and Somerset County Councils (through Local Area Agreements); North Devon Council; West Somerset Council; Exmoor National Park Authority; and four housing associations delivering affordable rural housing in the area - Falcon Rural Housing, Hastoe, Magna West Somerset, and North Devon Homes. It has been managed by a Steering Group reflecting this partnership, since it was set up in 2002. The RHP is one of about 50 similar projects delivering affordable housing for local people in rural areas in England and Wales.
The RHP employs two staff: Colin Savage Rural Housing Enabler and Diane Blackman Rural Housing Project Assistant.
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Rural Housing Partnerships in South West England - brochure (PDF 724KB)