About this Event
Hosted by the Rural Housing Innovation Network, this one-day workshop will explore challenges and opportunities to strengthen rural housing delivery, with several case studies from professionals involved in building and managing these homes, including Housing Associations and Community Land Trusts.
The workshop will commence with presentations on research insights, followed by presentations of projects, and will conclude with a roundtable discussion to explore how research can better inform housing delivery in practice. Please see the agenda below for speaker details and further information about each session.
About the Rural Housing Innovation Network
The Rural Housing Innovation Network brings together researchers in UK universities with rural housing sector bodies for the purpose of examining and evidencing critical challenges relating to rural affordable housing delivery. Through targeted research, including student research, it aims to assist sector bodies in understanding and overcoming impediments to development in rural areas. By drawing attention, and detailing challenges and best practice, the network also aims to influence policy and practice frameworks, locally and nationally.
Agenda
🕑: 09:00 AM
Registration, coffee
🕑: 09:30 AM
Welcome and introduction
Host: Professor Richard Yarwood, University of Plymouth
🕑: 10:00 AM
Session 1: Research Insights
Host: Chaired by Dr Andrew Purves, UCL
Key barriers to delivery
Host: Dr Tom Moore, University of Liverpool
Rural Exception Site delivery and land
Host: Professor Nick Gallent, UCL
Info: Drawing on research into the delivery of affordable housing on Rural Exception Sites, this presentation details the challenges of acquiring land at an affordable price on which to build housing for local community need.
Risks and opportunities of England's devolution agenda
Host: Dr Demelza Jones, University of Gloucestershire
Info: Drawing on research commissioned by the Rural Housing Network, this talk explores the opportunities and risks that England's devolution agenda presents for rural affordable housing. It examines how devolved governance could support rural affordable housing delivery, the role of local geographies, leadership and partnerships, and the actions needed to avoid a postcode lottery in rural outcomes.
🕑: 11:30 AM
Coffee break
🕑: 12:00 PM
Session 2: Projects
Host: Chaired by Prof Richard Yarwood, University of Plymouth
Rural housing partnerships in Devon, Dorset and Somerset
Host: Alison Ward, Middlemarch Community Led Housing CIC
Info: This session will explore how partnerships between Community Land Trusts and Housing Associations are helping to overcome barriers to delivering affordable housing in rural areas, drawing on examples from live projects and reflecting on what it would take to scale this approach more widely.
Rural housing partnerships in Cornwall
Host: Nathan Mallows, Coastline Housing
Info: Coastline is actively leveraging partnerships with organisations such as Cornwall Community Land Trust and Legal & General Affordable Homes to bring forward sites, overcome delivery barriers, and maximise the provision of much-needed affordable housing across Cornwall's (often rural and very rural) communities.
Rural housing partnerships in West Devon and South Hams
Host: Katie West, West Devon and South Hams District Councils
🕑: 01:30 PM
Lunch
🕑: 02:30 PM
Session 3: Roundtable discussion
Host: Chaired by Martin Collett, CEO of English Rural
🕑: 03:30 PM
Closing remarks, next steps
Host: Professor Nick Gallent, UCL
Event venue & nearby stays
Marine Station University of Plymouth, Artillery Place, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.