Young people's village homes plan

Young people are kept out of villages by high housing costs

Moves to stop people being priced out of historic villages are under way in the Wealden area of Sussex.

The council wants to develop affordable housing across 19 villages, and help keep the small communities alive.

Surveys have found people in their 20s and single older people are excluded from villages because of housing costs.

Gaynor Ralph, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said she had to move to a town centre because of the cost of housing in Frant, East Sussex, where she grew up.

Houses and flats in Frant are so expensive and there is nothing available to rent, so I had to move Gaynor Ralph

She now rents a flat without a garden, where she lives with her four-year-old son Jack and her partner, Stephen.

Ms Ralph said: "Houses and flats in Frant are so expensive and there is nothing available to rent, so I had to move."

She had been helping at the school's nursery in Frant before she moved.

"I really enjoyed helping there, and being part of the community.

"I would like to do more now Jack is starting school, but I find it too expensive to keep travelling from Tunbridge Wells," she said.

Agricultural decline

Trevor Cherrett, head of rural policy at Action in Rural Sussex, said: "Many young people want to be part of the local community, but are having to move away to the towns, or stay with their parents.

"With the decline in agriculture, villages have changed dramatically, with many becoming dormitories for people working miles away."

Parish councils, the district council and housing associations are involved in Hope (Housing Our People), which is consulting on plans to build 300 homes in villages.

Councillor Nigel Coltman, district council leader, said most of the housing would be for rent, so young people could stay close to their jobs and families.