Rural Housing Week begins on Monday 3 October 2011 and ends on Sunday 9 October. It aims to demonstrate the important role affordable housing plays in maintaining small rural communities. It raises awareness of the value of affordable housing and the value it adds to villages and market towns.

Not only are housing associations like Westlea helping local people, who might otherwise be priced out of their home area, to continue to live in the same area as their friends and family, but they are helping to preserve the economic viability of rural communities by ensuring continued demand for key services such as shops, schools, post offices, and pubs.

For example, our recently completed development in Frome Road, Southwick, has 12 properties all for affordable rent. In addition, this development had strong links with the local primary school resulting in a montage of the colourful artwork they produced being installed at the entrance to the site in the village. Similarly, our larger development at Church St, also in Southwick, has 28 of its 55 homes for affordable rent.

It's well worth noting that the average home in rural parts of the South West now costs 13 times local incomes compared to 11 times incomes in our more urban areas. 72% of country-dwellers in the South West of England agree there is a shortage of affordable housing for local people where they live. 81% of people in the rural South West say families and young people are being priced out of the countryside. and 82% would support a small number of homes being built for local people. Adding to rural problems are the facts that nationally around 400 village shops and 700 rural pubs have been closing down each year.

The National Housing Federation is coordinating Rural Housing Week. GreenSquare's MD, David Ashmore, is chair of the South West NHF regional committee.

Find out more about Rural Housing Week at www.housing.org.uk/ruralweek.

[published online 03/10/11]