Rural Housing Week: A rough guide to rural, affordable housing in Hampshire
To help clarify the process of bringing affordable homes to your village, we’d like to share the story of a development in Curdridge, a rural village in Hampshire, 7 miles from Southampton which is now completed and awaiting its official opening.
The occupancy of 8 new affordable homes in Curdridge Parish is prioritised for households in housing need with a local connection to the Curdridge Parish and the close surrounding area. The scheme completed in August 2025, an official opening is yet to be announced.
How it all began
The project began in 2010/2011 when the Parish Council invited one of our Rural Housing Enablers and an officer from the Housing Team at Winchester City Council to a meeting to talk about affordable housing. We were asked to research the housing need for Curdridge and to help the Parish Council search for suitable sites. The project was temporarily put on hold for a few years whilst the Parish Council carried out a Parish Plan.
We worked with the community and parish council to promote rural affordable housing and assess the housing need in Curdridge as well as helping them to find potentially suitable sites for development.
The scheme restarted in 2016, and the housing need and sites appraisal was updated. Landowners were then contacted to find out if sites were available. Other work included organising a site and design community consultation events in partnership with the Parish Council, Housing Association and Local Authority to advise the community on the sites that were being considered. The events were used to update the housing need and advise people interested in the new homes how to register. This was an important way to engage with the community and demystify any fears that they may have.
Follow this link to read the Stigma Vs Reality blog
Who was involved in the project?
The main organisations involved were Curdridge Parish Council, Winchester City Council, Hastoe Housing Association, the landowner Rob Medway, and the Rural Housing Enabler at Action Hampshire.
What are the stages in the process?
- The Parish Council/Community identify a need for affordable housing and seek assistance.
- A Housing Need Assessment is carried out. Followed by site appraisals to identify a suitable site in conjunction with the Parish Council and Local Authority
- Designs for the homes are produced by the Housing Association. A public Consultation Event is held, alongside pre-application discussions with the Local Authority Planning Department
- Planning Permission and funding are obtained by the Housing Association and construction begins. Once complete the homes will be allocated to someone with a local connection to the area.
- The scheme is celebrated with an opening event for local people and residents invited alongside neighbouring Parish Councils who may also be interested in developing a scheme.
Why does Hampshire need rural, affordable housing?
In some rural areas in Hampshire, average house prices can be 10-15 times average earnings. Rural Affordable Housing is important to the prosperity of rural communities.
Rural communities include all sorts of people, from those on higher incomes to others earning average or lower wages but high house prices and expensive rents mean it’s getting harder for people on lower incomes to stay in their villages. This can get even tougher if things change at home, like losing a job, a relationship ending, or trying to move out and live independently, making rent or a mortgage too much to manage. It’s also harder because there just aren’t many homes available locally, and rental options are often very limited.
This highlights how difficult it can be for people to stay in rural communities. Even a small number of new homes in these rural communities can make a real difference, helping local people to continue to live and work where they grew up and be close to and support family members and positively impact their wider community.
According to the CPRE (Campaign to protect Rural England) 10 new affordable homes can generate £1.4 million for the local economy and support 26 jobs. Local shops, pubs and services are more likely to thrive when more people can live and spend locally.
Thanks to affordable housing those who have grown up in the village can return as they are no longer priced out of the area. Older people have a chance to downsize and remain where they have lived for years.
Affordable homes help diverse and vibrant communities grow. Homes for different ages, backgrounds and income levels, contribute to breaking down barriers to opportunity and foster inclusivity.
Essential workers, such as teachers, care workers and plumbers, can afford to live in the communities they serve. This can help boost the local economy and support local infrastructure.
The role of a Rural Housing Enabler
The Rural Housing Enabler's role is to work with the Parish Council throughout the process but mainly in the early stages where we are proving the housing need, search for a site and willing landowner and making sure all partners to the process are engaging.
Follow this link to read a blog about the role of a Rural Housing Enabler
For more information
If you’d like to bring rural, affordable housing to your village please contact a member of our team
If you’d like to bring Rural, affordable housing to your village please contact a member of our team here housing@actionhampshire.org