Affordable rural housing


ORCC is part of the Oxfordshire Rural Housing Partnership (ORHP). Formed in 2003, ORHP also includes the four rural district councils and four housing associations. Their job is to identify affordable housing need in rural areas and to help meet that demand.

The affordable homes that the Partnership deals with are of a very particular kind. They are built on small plots of land that wouldn’t normally get planning permission for housing and special rules apply – most importantly, they are ‘local homes for local people’. When the local District Council allocates the houses or flats, their decisions are based heavily on the strength of the applicant’s connection to the local community.

To date, around 400 of these homes have been built. Some recently completed schemes include Bletchingdon, Ramsden, Shrivenham, Clanfield, and Tiddington. Others are currently on site in Woodstock and Eynsham, with several more in the pipeline.

Steeple Aston Affordable Housing Scheme 

ORCC employs 2 Rural Housing Enablers (RHEs), whose role is to act as ‘honest broker’- ensuring the opinions of local communities are heard and represented through the whole development process. Our RHEs are always willing to come out to meet and talk to parishes, and will help parish councils to organise Housing Needs Surveys. These surveys have proved their worth time and again as a really effective way of uncovering local housing need, which is often hidden. If need is demonstrated, RHEs then liaise with the parish and the ORHP partners to find a suitable site for development. As work progresses, RHEs provide regular updates to the parish and organises community consultation events, again ensuring the local voice continues to be heard.