Letter: In desperate need of more New Forest land for affordable housing

SIR – The lack of affordable housing in the New Forest is hitting the news again and so it should.

The dramatic recent rise in homelessness was featured in your pages (Homelessness surges as landlords quit the market – A&T, 4th November) and in your letters page there was a plea for "a reservoir of social and affordable housing" if Forest communities are to flourish (Letters, 4th November).

The New Forest Villages Housing Association, as a not-for-profit specialist housing association, was formed to meet that need.

Over the past 30 years, it has built and managed affordable social housing in several New Forest villages including Brockenhurst, Beaulieu, Minstead, and Burley to name just a few.

These are small, high-quality developments which fit neatly within their locality. They are available only for rent so that they stay affordable and available only to local residents.

However, in later years it has proved an uphill struggle to provide additional affordable housing in New Forest villages even with the expertise of our parent housing association, English Rural.

We have the funds but we face key challenges. First is a lack of suitable sites and secondly, sadly, the opposition of some local residents.

Thankfully not all local residents object; many see the need particularly when their children, relatives or friends can no longer find affordable accommodation in the area in which they have strong local connections.

We and English Rural also work very hard with local communities to try and allay nagging concerns.

Given our charitable purpose and status as a not-for-profit organisation, we can develop rural exception sites, which are small sites abutting village boundaries that would otherwise not secure planning.

But it is just so difficult to find suitable sites. We would love to hear from more villages and landowners willing to work with us.

Sarah Nield,
Chair, New Forest Villages Housing Association