In recognition of Rural Housing Week (7-11 July), we’re highlighting our high quality and much needed homes in the small Kent village of Weald. Rural Housing Week focuses on the importance of affordable housing in rural communities.
In 2021, we completed on a new community in the village of Weald. The community included high quality homes, two of which were built for social rent and four for shared ownership, with beautiful views over the Kent countryside. These new homes were key to meeting the need of affordable housing in rural areas. This was delivered with the added challenge of Covid-19 affecting the build.
One of our residents told us: “I feel social housing in rural areas is important as not everyone wants to live in towns or cities. I had become part of the village community and there were very few private rentals and certainly nothing affordable to me. I would have been devastated if we would have had to leave a place where my son and I had formed so many friendships and had the support of the community. These homes have helped to develop such a great local community.”
Our homes in Weald were a welcome addition and were the first homes built in the village by a housing association for decades. We worked in partnership with the local authority and parish council to ensure the homes were completed to a high standard and in keeping with the local area.
Looking ahead, building homes in rural communities will remain part of our growth and regeneration plans We want to increase our homes in management to 10,000 and re-shape our property portfolio to better meet the current and future needs across Kent, this will include contributing to the urgent need of affordable housing in rural areas across the county.