On 6 November, Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet endorsed the approach to deliver homes for local people in rural areas as part of the District Council's Housing Strategy - 'The Sustainable Homes - Sustainable Communities Stratford-on-Avon District Housing Strategy 2021 - 2016'.
The 2023 Rural Housing Enabler Report detailed the progress made in rural settlements since the inception of the Rural Housing Programme from 2005 and up to the end of September 2023, in building homes to meet local housing needs and the number of homes delivered locally.
Although the post of Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) is independent from Stratford-on-Avon District Council and employed by Warwickshire Rural Community Council (WRCC), they work closely with the District Council's Housing Policy and Development Team.
Stratford-on-Avon District is characterised by a widely dispersed patters of rural settlements. The Rural Housing Enabler seeks to prioritise engagement with communities where involvement is more likely to result in the delivery of housing schemes and assist local communities to deliver local needs and local choice rural housing schemes.
The work of the RHE involves encouraging and enabling rural communities to identify and meet local housing needs, as well as establishing and delivering a rural development programme.
This approach to delivering local housing has also recently been recognised nationally with the District Council's Housing Policy and Development team being shortlisted at the Affordable Housing Awards for the Council or Combined Authority of the Year category.
