The Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) acts as an independent 'honest broker' working with parish councils, housing associations, local authorities, land owners and property developers to progress opportunities for affordable housing for local people in rural areas.
RHE operate in many counties in England and Wales funded mainly by contributions from housing associations and local authorities.

The Bedfordshire RHE’s specific responsibilities are as follows:

• Help to identify housing need within rural parishes through coordinating Housing Needs Surveys
• Support parishes through the process of obtaining exception site housing
• Work with landowners interested in providing land for exception site housing
• Carry out research into examples of exception site good practice, and other methods of providing affordable housing
• Represent Bedfordshire at the Eastern Regional RHE network meetings

For an example of RHE work, please see this case study (to follow).

For further information contact:
Zoe Ashby, 01234 832618

There are two main ways in which new affordable housing is built:

1. Through “exception sites”, which provide affordable housing in smaller rural parishes, specifically for people with a strong local connection to that parish
   
   
2. Through local authority planning regulations that require private developers, to provide between 30 & 50 % of each new site to be allocated to affordable housing.

More information on affordable housing opportunities for Bedfordshire is available at the Key Homes - East website.