A new Rural Housing Enabler has been appointed by the Wrexham and Flintshire Rural Housing Steering Group to help rural communities to meet their affordable housing needs.
Catherine Kirkham has recently been appointed as the new Rural Housing Enabler for Wrexham and Flintshire. Catherine will work with the rural communities of Flintshire and Wrexham offering advice and support and guiding them through the process of providing affordable housing.
Catherine will act as an independent broker, working with village residents, community councils, local landowners, planning officers and housing associations to help provide affordable housing to people in need.
Her main aims are to identify local housing need in rural communities by conducting housing needs surveys and help to develop small scale affordable housing projects specifically for people with a local connection who are in housing need.
The post is funded jointly by the Welsh Assembly Government, Flintshire County Council, Wrexham County Borough Council, Wales & West Housing Association, Cymdeithas Tai Clwyd and will be hosted by Pennaf Housing Group.
Access to affordable housing is a real concern for many residents in rural areas. Rising house prices and few homes for social rent often result in valuable members of the community having to leave their village.
Many young people with a strong local connection have to leave their village, away from family and friends in search of an affordable home. As a consequence, rural areas have an increasingly ageing population with young people ‘priced out of the market’.
On average, incomes are lower for people working in rural areas. People working locally are unable to afford a home in the village in which they work.
Many older people on modest incomes need affordable housing too. They may wish to downsize to a smaller home because the family home is too expensive to maintain.
When people move elsewhere the result can be the closure of village schools, shops, pubs, bus routes, post offices and local businesses.
Catherine said: “These people contribute to the vitality of rural areas and it is important that we provide affordable housing so that they are able to stay in their local community where they were brought up’’.
Andy Lewis, Chief Housing and Public Protection Officer for Wrexham County Borough Council said:
“Delivering appropriate affordable housing is one of Wrexham Council’s priorities for 2010/11 and we are looking forward to working with Catherine to help deliver affordable homes in our rural communities for local people”.
