Breadcrumbs
Rural people need homes too – 12 June 2002
Villages and small towns are not providing sufficient housing to enable people on low incomes to stay in their communities and, in many rural areas, homelessness is a growing problem.
Launching a new guide on preventing homelessness in rural areas, Mr Cameron said “The rise in house prices in relation to local wages and the scarcity of social housing is leading to increasing problems of accommodation for key workers and local families in rural areas. Homelessness, particularly amongst the young, is now not unusual in the countryside. But many local authorities are not able to provide the homes and advice needed to prevent rural homelessness.
“Nearly 40% of rural districts have no emergency accommodation at all for young people.
In 30% of rural districts young people have to travel more than 20 miles to access emergency accommodation, and 71% of rural local authorities currently use bed and breakfasts to house young people for some length of time.
“For the individual the need is acute. Take ‘David’ who in mid winter slept in a car before briefly going to a night stop. Faced with no accommodation he could afford, the only option was to go to a hostel 40 miles away. This was too far from his family and friends, so he walked back. He still had no shelter and in desperation broke into a caravan. The police were called and he ended up in a bail hostel.
“The new Homelessness Act provides a lifeline to people like David but it will only be effective in rural areas if its implementation is tailored to meet rural circumstances. Preventing homelessness in rural areas - what works provides guidance for local authorities and the voluntary sector. It describes the rural dimension of homelessness, the principles that underpin successful planning and delivery of services to homeless people in rural areas, illustrates this with examples of good practice, and identifies the key learning points.
“Being homeless is a damaging experience. The lack of emergency accommodation or advice in rural areas make a bad situation worse. This guide provides local authorities and the voluntary sector with some excellent examples and advice on how they can prevent homelessness in the countryside. I hope they will put it into practice.
“But this is only tackling the result of the problem, not the cause. In the longer term the real answer is to provide more affordable housing in the countryside .” concluded Mr Cameron.
Preventing homelessness in the countryside...what works? is available on our website www.countryside.gov.uk or from Countryside Agency publications on 0870 120 6466.
Notes to editors:
For further information please contact the Countryside Agency press office on 020 7340 2906/7/9 or out of hours on 0797 3942892.
