Housing Need in the Parish of Seend

Seend CLT and Parish Housing Need

The early research of the Seend's CLT supporters revealed that housing need in Seend is, to a large extent, hidden. We knocked on doors across the parish and found that some parishioners:

Are living in accommodation that they consider is inappropriate for their current and future needs.
Are sharing accommodation leading to overcrowding.
Own accommodation that is beyond their financial means to maintain.
Are "empty nesters", with housing equity and financial security but in need of appropriate accommodation within the parish that would allow them to maintain local links and social contact with friends and family.
Are private rental market tenants with the means to purchase housing - but only at an affordable cost.
Have family members who had been brought up in the parish but had moved away because affordable accommodation was not available locally.
Have family who had formerly moved away for employment reasons and now wish to return to Seend.
Have younger family members who were starting families and have need of local accommodation.
Are interested in self-building a home in the parish or a shared equity purchase.

Housing built by Toller Porcorum CLT (a Dorset parish of 250 people)

Affordable housing for Seend people

Our CLT is planning to build affordable homes for parish people. The CLT is partnered with the White Horse Housing Association (WHHA). Together, the affordable homes we build over the next few years will be partially funded from government grant through Homes England.

The homes will be let through Wiltshire Council's Homes 4 Wiltshire service (H4W). The priority for the homes will go to those households with a local connection to Seend. Housing need and how long you have been on the H4W register will also be taken into account.

You may have tried to register with H4W in the past and been revised and advised that you are adequately housed because you are in a private let or living with relatives. Please do not be put off applying again; you can now go on the Open Market Register operated by H4W. This means the you still have a chance to apply for affordable properties in the Parish of Seend if you have a local connection. So, do not delay, apply to join the H4W register at www.homes4wiltshire.co.uk as soon as possible.

Please also contact White Horse Housing Association on 01380 850916 and staff will be happy to guide you through the H4W application process and record your interest for the future homes.

Help to buy

If you wish to buy a home and are interested in the the current 'Help to Buy' scheme you should register your interest here on the Help to Buy South web site.

If you wish to discuss any aspect of this further with a Seend CLT board member, you may use our contact form, or email info@seendclt.org or contact a member of the CLT board.

Do we really need housing?

In the 2015 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), compiled by the Office of National Statistics, Seend is placed in the top 10% of communities in England for barriers to housing and services. In 2015 we still had a pub and things have not improved as that has closed.

Housing need in our parish of Seend is exactly the same as housing need in many English rural parishes. The current rural housing situation can not be more adequately illuminated than in the Institute of Public Policy Research North's (IPPR North) July 2018 report on fixing the affordable housing crisis in rural England. Baxter D and Murphy L (2018) A new rural settlement: Fixing the affordable housing crisis in rural England, IPPR. www.ippr.org/publications/a-new-rural-settlement

Understandably, people don't like reading extensive reports of a socio-economic nature. Baxter and Murphy have kindly provided a 2-page summary. If you have further curiosity you can read the full report of just 36 pages. The Seend resonances are common throughout our rural England of 2019.