Last summer, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a Roman villa and a Bronze Age settlement on a site where we're planning 100 affordable homes in Langport, Somerset. The discovery offered a fascinating glimpse into the past and a reminder that people have lived, worked and built lives in this part of Somerset for thousands of years.
As we look ahead to Langport's next chapter, it also highlights why affordable homes matter. Every generation deserves the opportunity to put down roots and build a future in the place they call home.
When local people can no longer afford to live near family, work or support networks, villages and market towns feel the impact. Schools struggle to retain pupils, employers find it harder to recruit, local services come under pressure and younger people are often forced to move away.
The need for affordable housing in rural areas is growing. House prices have risen faster than local wages, with homes now costing around 8.8 times average local incomes, compared with 7.6 times in urban areas. Social housing waiting lists have increased significantly in recent years, while rural homelessness continues to rise. Meeting that need is rarely straightforward. Rural developments are often more complex and costly than those in urban locations.
Affordable homes offer benefits that extend far beyond bricks and mortar, helping people stay close to family, work and support networks. They are also built to modern energy efficiency standards, meaning warmer, cheaper-to-run homes that reduce fuel poverty and ease pressure on the ageing, often poorly insulated housing stock common in rural areas. That's why we remain committed to building the homes rural areas need. In Somerset, work has recently started on 67 affordable homes in Crewkerne. In Dorset, we're building 58 new homes in Beaminster and progressing proposals in Broadmayne. In Surrey, we’ve recently completed 17 homes in Gomshall within the Surrey Hills National Landscape. Each place is different, but they share a common need: homes that allow local people to remain part of the communities they know and love.
We recognise the opportunities these homes create for the people who will live in them. But they represent only a small part of the demand that exists across rural communities. The gap between need and supply remains significant. If we are serious about meeting rural housing need, we must ask what more can be done to unlock affordable homes in the communities that need them most.
That's why Rural Housing Week is so important. It shines a light on the role affordable housing plays in keeping rural places vibrant, resilient and sustainable. While there is no single answer, some programmes and partnerships are already helping communities bring forward homes that might otherwise never be built. One example is the Defra-funded Rural Housing Enabler programme. A 2025 evaluation found that every £1 invested generated £3.30 in social value over three years and helped create a pipeline of more than 2,100 potential affordable homes across rural areas. Rural Housing Enablers provide a practical way to support smaller developments. Working with councils, landowners and residents, they help identify local need, find suitable sites and navigate the planning process. Just as importantly, they help build trust and understanding, ensuring people can shape proposals from an early stage.
Community Land Trusts can also play an important role. Their local knowledge and relationships can help identify opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. Yet, like many organisations involved in rural housing, they often face limits on capacity and resources. That is why collaboration matters. Community Land Trusts bring local insight and credibility, while housing associations bring investment, development expertise and long-term stewardship. In some cases, the trust helps secure the land while the housing association funds, builds and manages the homes. With the right backing, Rural Housing Enablers and Community Land Trusts could play an even greater role in unlocking affordable homes in rural areas in the years ahead.
They are not the only answer, but they show what can be achieved when rural communities are given the support they need to bring forward new homes. Turning ambition into delivery requires more than funding alone. It depends on local leadership, sustained investment and organisations working together. As part of the government's long-term housing strategy, we need a clear plan to build on approaches that are already delivering results and give more places the tools they need to meet local housing need.
This Rural Housing Week, we are proud to support the call for more affordable homes in rural areas and the commitment needed to deliver them. Whether it's helping communities identify housing need, unlocking suitable sites or investing in the services that help people thrive, working together will be essential if we are to meet rural housing need and enable more communities to flourish.
Because if places like Langport have sustained generations of people for thousands of years, we should do everything we can to ensure future generations have the opportunity to call them home too.