Young farmers priced out of the countryside due to lack of affordable homes

Young farmers are being priced out of living in the rural Westcountry due to a shortage of affordable homes, a coalition of farming and housing groups warned today.

House prices in the countryside have more than doubled during the past decade but the average salary for people working in the countryside has risen to just £21,000.

The National Housing Federation, the National Farmers Union and the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs said the high cost of housing meant the vast majority of people in rural areas had little hope of ever being able to afford to buy a property where they lived. In the South West the problem is particularly acute, with property prices, particularly in rural parts, being on average higher than in many parts of the country.

The average home in Devon comes in at £245,000, while in Cornwall that figure is £227,000.

The groups have warned that the lack of affordable housing posed a threat to the South West's traditional rural life.

The survey comes just weeks after the Young Farmers at their annual conference in Torquay were warned that rural communities were at risk of becoming the preserve of the wealthy, second-home owners and the elderly.

Catherine Brabner of the National Housing Federation told the conference: "Rural communities need to stay as mixed communities, where people are able to buy a paper, have a pint or go to the garage for petrol. Affordable housing has to be an essential part of that."

Research carried out for the National Housing Federation found that 65 per cent of people living in rural England thought local families and young people were being priced out of villages and market towns by the high cost of property.

A further 63 per cent thought there was a shortage of affordable homes for local people in their village, with 70 per cent saying they would support plans to build a small number of affordable properties for local people in their area.

More than a third of people in rural communities thought key services, such as village shops, post offices and pubs, had declined during the past five years, while 31 per cent thought second-home owners had a negative impact on community life.

One in five people also thought the number of second homes in their community had increased during the past five years.

The federation, which represents housing associations in England, said the number of people on waiting lists for affordable housing in England had soared to 750,000, and it estimates that nearly 100,000 new affordable homes need to be built in rural areas during the coming 10 years to meet demand.

It said hundreds of pubs and shops were closing every year in rural England, while village schools were closing at the rate of one a month due to declining demand as local families were priced out of the area by wealthy commuters and second-home owners.

The group is calling on local housing authorities to draw up action plans to address the housing needs of people in their communities to ensure villages remain sustainable.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: "Unless we build more affordable homes for the local families who sustain and enrich village life, then we must accept that traditional community life will be wiped out within a generation in many areas.

"Local authorities need to assess just how many affordable homes are needed in each rural ward, and draw up action plans to get those homes delivered, before more small village schools are closed and traditional village life dies on its feet."

YFC members in Devon have already identified house prices, being outbid by developers, the struggle to get land passed for development and the additional problems faced by single young people trying to find affordable homes as key issues facing young people looking for an affordable home in rural areas. They have already pledged to lobby and petition at local level.