Evaluation of the Rural Housing Enablers (RHE) in Wales

The ending of the current tranche of Welsh Government funding in March 2014 prompted an evaluation of the RHE Programme.

Aims

• To assess the extent to which the RHE projects have acted as a direct link to rural communities and local stakeholders to identify and find potential resolutions to housing needs.
• To evaluate the extent to which RHE projects have influenced the strategic landscape of affordable housing.
• To provide conclusions and recommendations on the above including potential funding options going forward.

Key findings

• RHEs successfully put in place the evidence and community engagement that are essential pre-requisites for delivery of rural affordable housing. Their input is valued by local authorities, housing associations and communities.
• In six areas the RHEs have helped deliver 186 affordable homes since 2004, with a further 240 in the pipeline. Unfortunately there is a paucity of data on delivery by other routes.
• It is universally considered that the loss of an existing RHE project would reduce the already low levels of rural affordable housing delivery.
• The length of time for which a post has been existence and the time that an individual RHE has been employed appear to have a significant impact on outcomes and outputs. Six areas provided data on delivery and between them they had completed 186 units since the RHE posts started. Of this 89% of completions were in Gwynedd, Monmouthshire and Powys South, all areas where there has been a RHE in post since 2009.
• It is perceived however that delivery is held back by a lack of capital funding, limited site supply, out of date local plans, planning policies that do not take account of financial viability and a lack of strategic leadership. All these issues can be influenced by but are outside the direct control of the RHEs.
• This research recommends that a parallel approach is taken to improve delivery and retain the RHE posts. At a local level these include: adopting a delivery team approach that involves all partners co-ordinated by the RHE; and stronger strategic leadership by those managing and funding the RHE role. At Welsh Government level they include considering: targeting some of its capital funding for rural delivery; and amending planning policy to allow cross-subsidy on rural exception sites.