For many villages, the housing market is broken. Young people are priced out of the communities they grew up in, while residents often fear uncontrolled development.
The Council’s latest “Rural Housing Enabler” report provides a fascinating “Traffic Light” assessment of affordable housing projects across the district. These are “Local Needs” schemes – small developments specifically for people with a local connection, often built on land that wouldn’t normally get planning permission (known as “exception sites”).
The big picture
Since 2005, the programme has successfully built 321 homes in villages like Brailes, Harbury, and Long Compton. However, Housing Needs Surveys indicate there is still a verified need for 481 more homes across the district. To keep this momentum going, the Cabinet is set to renew the contract for the “Rural Housing Enabler” service for another three years at a cost of £60,000 per annum.
Green light: moving forward
These villages have active projects or strong potential for new local housing:
- Claverdon: A success story in the making. A scheme for 10 homes (4 for rent, 6 shared ownership) has planning permission (22/03139/FUL) and is expected to start on site in Autumn 2025. The Council has committed £738,000 in funding to make this viable.
- Broom (Bidford): A development of 9 homes at Aspley Close is slated to begin construction in Spring 2026. This project (22/02449/FUL) has secured £351,000 in Council support.
- Tanworth-in-Arden (Earlswood): An application (24/02382/FUL) has been submitted for 11 Local Needs homes. The Parish Council remains supportive following a public consultation.
- Cherington: A planning application (23/00597/FUL) for 8 affordable homes has been submitted and is currently awaiting a decision.
- Salford Priors: A survey in April 2025 identified a need for 16 new homes. A “desktop site canvassing” exercise has been completed and submitted to the Parish Council for discussion.
Amber light: uncertain progress
- Great Alne: A survey found a need for 16 homes. Five potential sites were actually put to a public vote in March 2024, but the Parish Council has now put the project on hold until the outcome of the new South Warwickshire Local Plan is known.
- Lighthorne: The Parish Council is currently focusing on the new settlement at Gaydon/Lighthorne Heath, rather than specific village needs.
Red light: stalled projects
In these areas, projects have hit the buffers, often due to landowners withdrawing support or parish councils opposing specific sites:
- Ullenhall: The Parish Council initially agreed to a survey but then declined, citing local concerns that it would “open the village to housebuilding”.
- Bishops Itchington: A landowner is willing to provide a rural exception site, but a draft proposal for local needs homes was presented to the Parish Council in September 2024 and failed to gain support.
- Snitterfield: Despite a housing need for 11 homes, this has moved to “Red” status because the landowner of the preferred site has not responded to the Council.
- Avon Dassett: Stalled after the Parish Council requested that SDC withdraw the Housing Needs Survey report entirely.
The high price of ‘affordable’
Building small numbers of high-quality homes in rural areas is expensive. The report reveals the Council often steps in with heavy subsidies to ensure they get built. For example, the £738,000 grant for Claverdon and £485,000 for the carbon-negative homes in Bearley (completed in 2022) came from developer contributions collected elsewhere in the district.
Do you need a local home? You must be on the register to be considered. Visit Home Choice Plus to apply.
