Enabling affordable homes in Warwickshire and Solihull

Midlands Rural Housing to deliver rural housing enabling in Warwickshire and Solihull

Midlands Rural Housing (MRH) is pleased to be working with the Rural Community Council, Leicestershire and Rutland (RCC) to deliver Rural Housing Enabling services across Warwickshire and Solihull.

The new contract will see MRH support rural communities to identify and respond to local housing need, working closely with parish councils, local authorities, and other partners to help bring forward affordable homes for local people.

Funded by Defra and administered through Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), the service ensures continued investment in rural housing delivery at a time when many communities face increasing challenges around affordability and access to suitable homes.

At the heart of the service is the Rural Housing Enabler role, which provides dedicated support to communities. This includes undertaking housing needs surveys, facilitating local conversations around housing, and helping to identify suitable opportunities for affordable housing - while ensuring schemes reflect local priorities and secure community support.

Philippa McKenna, Project Delivery Manager at Midlands Rural Housing, said: "We’re really pleased to be working with RCC to deliver this service. Rural housing enabling is about making sure communities have a voice and that new homes reflect what local people actually need. We’re looking forward to working with partners across Warwickshire and Solihull to support the delivery of affordable homes in rural areas.”

Kevin Butcher, Executive Director of the RCC (Leicestershire and Rutland) said “It was really important that we secured this investment in local rural housing delivery for Warwickshire.  We now need local communities, parish councils and housing developers to step up and help us deliver some local homes for local people.’