Help save our villages

It's time to stand up for rural England. We need all rural MPs and councillors to back this campaign. We must ensure housing need is fully understood in every rural area.

Add yourself to our interactive supporter map

Write to your MP

Write to your local councillor

Write to your local newspaper's letters page

Join the Save our villages Facebook page

Action for housing associations

Housing associations have a key role to play in this campaign. Together we can ensure enough new rural homes are built to end the housing crisis in our villages.

Add your organisation to our interactive supporter map

What we want

The Federation wants to halt this decline of rural England. Our three-step plan seeks to ensure that housing need is understood and dealt with at a local level, ensuring mixed, sustainable and working villages.

Our plan

1. Every local authority puts in place a system to ensure it fully understands housing need in its rural areas.

2. It publishes an action plan to show how it will meet that need. 

3. To ensure the rural housing crisis is addressed not just now but also for future generations, steps one and two are refreshed at least once every three years.

More details about the campaign and what we are asking of local authorities is available in our online publication Save our villages: A short guide for rural authorities.

Local authority supporters

Almost 40 rural councils are now backing our campaign and have signed up to the three-step plan in their local area.

List of local authorities

Has your council signed up?

If not, please send a email to your local councillors asking them to consider backing the campaign.

Email your councillor(s)

New rural housing film launched in Parliament

29 March 2012

The Federation has launched a new short film telling the story of Clare Dixon and her struggle to get an affordable home in rural Norfolk. It was unveiled to a group of 60 MPs, councillors, housing associations and rural campaigners at a House of Commons reception on 21 March 2012.

• Watch the film on YouTube

Press highlights

Rural exodus leads to dozens of village schools closing
Independent on Sunday - 4 September 2011

"An exodus of families from the countryside, priced out of village life, threatens the future of schools, pubs and shops across rural Britain."

Emmerdale characters would be priced out in real life
Daily Mail - Dec 30 2010

"Most of the characters in farming soap Emmerdale would not be able to afford to live in their country homes because of high prices in the rural housing market."

News archive

Celebration for new affordable homes in Leicestershire
18 November 2011

Ten village schools closing every year, new figures show
5 September 2011

Councillors attend rural housing training
15 August 2011

Federation quoted on rural housing
Independent on Sunday - 24 July 2011