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Battle for affordable rural homes for 'voiceless'

BBC Jonathan Layzell from Stonewater wearing a hard hat and high visibility jacket on a building site at Martock in Somerset. He is smiling at the camera and new homes in progress can be seen in the backgroundBBC
Stonewater housing association says many more sites are needed for new affordable homes in Somerset

One of the country's biggest social housing providers has called for a "more mature conversation" over where new homes are built.

"People in need of new affordable homes quite often don't have a voice," said Stonewater chief officer for customer experience, Jonathan Layzell.

"What's really important is that the voice of the vocal minority trying to oppose new homes doesn't drown out the voice of people who have nowhere to live."

He was speaking about building in rural areas during a visit to a construction site at Martock in Somerset.

A building site with a newly-built pair of yellow stone semi-detached houses in the background with a half-built house in the foreground with no roof or windows
A batch of 24 homes for affordable rent are being built in Martock

Less less than five miles away in South Petherton, a further 30 affordable homes are due for completion by Stonewater later this month.

But Mr Layzell said there are around 200 families waiting for an affordable home, who say they want to live in this area.

He said there was a "surprising number" of people living in unsuitable and overcrowded accommodation nearby, often with three or four generations living in the same home.

Mr Layzell said Stonewater owns about 2,500 homes across Somerset, and often faces objections when looking for new sites despite the "massive need" for more affordable housing in the area.

As of March 2024, there were 9,582 households looking for a new home registered with Somerset Council's social housing service Homefinder Somerset.

"We all need to engage in the process around planning for new homes and have a more mature conversation around where those homes should go," said Mr Layzell.

"There needs to be an acceptance that we do need to build more homes in Somerset to meet the needs of families locally."

An aerial view of a building site next to countryside and hills in Somerset. Large bags of building materials are visible as well as machinery including an orange digger
The Martock development is being built on fields at the edge of the village

The Martock scheme of 24 affordable-rent homes is a mix of two and three bed homes plus one four-bed property.

Stonewater said affordable rent is charged at 80% of the local market value, with the rates set by the government.

The homes will be ready for people to move in this summer, eight years after the planning process first began in 2017.

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