06 Jul 2026
Launched for Rural Housing Week, the free guide warns villages risk being “written out” of plans that will shape housing for a generation
Rural communities across England are being given the tools to shape how housing decisions are made under devolution, as English Rural publishes a new toolkit to mark Rural Housing Week.
Making Devolution Work for Affordable Rural Housing is a free, practical guide for parish councils, community groups, rural councillors and housing advocates. It comes as new strategic authorities — and, in many areas, directly elected mayors — take on significant housing and planning powers under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.
At the heart of the new system are Spatial Development Strategies: high-level plans, with a minimum 20-year horizon, that every strategic authority must produce. English Rural warns that unless these plans explicitly recognise rural housing need, smaller villages and market towns risk being overlooked in favour of larger urban centres.
The scale of the challenge is stark. More than 300,000 people are on rural social housing waiting lists in England. Rural house prices stand at 8.8 times local lower-quartile earnings. Rural homelessness has risen by 73% since 2018, while social housing construction has fallen by 32% since 2012. Affordable housing need is around 50% higher in rural areas than in urban areas outside London — yet there is no national rural housing target.
Martin Collett, Chief Executive, English Rural, said:
Devolution is the biggest change in how housing decisions are made in a generation, and it could be a real opportunity for rural England. But opportunity is not the same as outcome. Spatial Development Strategies being written now will shape where homes are built for the next 20 years. If rural need isn’t written in, it gets averaged out. This toolkit puts practical power in the hands of the people who know their communities best — so rural voices are heard while it still counts.
The toolkit builds on independent research, English Devolution and Rural Affordable Housing: Opportunities and Risks, published in December 2025 by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) at the University of Gloucestershire and commissioned by the Rural Housing Network. That research found devolution poses both opportunities and risks for rural affordable housing, and warned of a “postcode lottery” in which some areas secure investment while others are overlooked.
It sets out who communities should engage with, five practical actions they can take, checklists to test whether a local Spatial Development Strategy is genuinely “rural proofed”, and ready-to-use templates including letters to strategic authorities and MPs.
English Rural points to the wider prize: research for CPRE, English Rural and the Rural Services Network found that every 10 new affordable rural homes can boost the local economy by around £1.4 million, support 26 jobs and generate £250,000 in government revenue.
David Barrowcliff, Head of Communications & Technology, English Rural, said:
We wanted to put something genuinely useful in people’s hands for Rural Housing Week. You don’t need to be a planning expert to make a difference — you need to know who to talk to and what to ask for. That’s exactly what this toolkit provides.
The toolkit is free to download here and free to share.
Find out more about the toolkit at the RSN Member Exclusive Seminar on Affordable Rural Housing taking place next week.
Book your place here and view the agenda here.
