House prices 'force rural exodus'

Thousands of young people are predicted to leave the countryside

More than 100,000 young adults will leave the English countryside over the next three years due to a shortage of affordable housing, research suggests.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) estimates 103,000 people aged from 24 to 35 will migrate from villages and market towns to urban areas by 2012.

From 1998 to 2007, some 341,000 people between these ages left the English countryside, official figures show.

The NHF wants affordable homes built in areas where there is a "proven need".

The NHF represents England's housing associations, and reached its projected migration figure following research that included examining housing trends and using information from rural housing associations.

It also said a chronic shortage of affordable housing in rural England was fuelling the mass exodus of young people from the countryside.

It estimates around 100,000 new affordable homes need to be built to meet demand in rural areas over the next 10 years.

The federation is also calling on local authorities in rural areas to draw up action plans to address the housing needs of their communities, as it launches a new campaign aimed at tackling the housing crisis in the countryside.

POPULATION DECLINE OF 24 TO 35-YEAR-OLDS FROM 1998-2007 West Somerset - population decline of 38.2% (1,300) East Dorset38.2% (3,400) South Shropshire36.7% (1,800) Eden, Cumbria36.6% (2,600) Rother, Sussex35.2% (3,100) Forest of Dean33.9% (3,700)

NHF chief executive David Orr said: "There's a real danger that traditional village life will die out within a generation unless we can build more affordable homes for young people and stop what is fast becoming a mass exodus to cheaper, urban areas.

"Rural England desperately needs young adults to support and contribute to their communities, but high house prices and a chronic shortage of affordable housing is threatening to turn our villages into family free zones."

Mr Orr also said that "the voices of people opposed to building new homes" often "drown out the needs of local people" who want to sustain their villages.

"We want affordable homes to be built in every rural area where there is a proven need for it," he said.

"It's crucial that every rural local authority in the country now draws up an action plan detailing how they plan to meet the demand for affordable housing.

"This would place a greater emphasis on local authorities to tackle the housing crisis on their front door and ensure they were doing their bit in halting the decline of the English countryside."

The worst affected areas for migration from rural areas over recent years are East Dorset and West Somerset, where 38.2% of the people aged 24-35 left those areas between 1998 and 2007.

And the NHF says waiting lists for affordable homes have risen by about 40% in rural areas over the last five years to 700,000 people.

It says younger adults have been priced out of villages by an influx of wealthy commuters, second home buyers and retired couples.