RDC's housing strategy is to increase provision of affordable housing to meet identified needs. The Parish Council is concerned that those needs are not being based on up to date accurate information and that 'local needs' may mean district-wide to RDC rather than within the village. The strategy of lowering the development qualification from 5 to 3 in the rural villages will help increase the number of affordable homes but the design of dwelling and the rent/purchase options are also key issues.
The stated initiative to reduce the number of empty homes is strongly supported.