Rural affordable housing research
"Teesdale District Council has worked with the arc4 team on three projects over the past three years. The work they have produced is consistently robust and professional, but written in a fashion that makes it useable across a range of professions and out in the public domain. We have built strong personal relations with a team that are committed, warm and dedicated. We have always felt able to follow up with any queries or issues even some time after the initial work was produced, the arc4 team has always been obliging.
The commitment to the quality of the work,and the aim that it is fit for our purpose is, in our experience their priority, they have come to understand our authority and our District and we are delighted to have found them".
Teesdale District Council
We are aware that many smaller rural authorities do not have the expertise or time to enable rural affordable housing. However, the delivery of rural affordable housing is high on the political agenda and been the subject of a high-profile review by Matthew Taylor MP. Working with our rural housing specialist Kirstine Riding, arc4 offers a service to local authorities, which combines evidencing need for affordable housing with enabling through community engagement and consultation.
In 2010 for instance, we completed two studies (rural areas of Stockton-on-Tees in the North East and Wyre Borough Council in Lancashire). Both evidenced need though a comprehensive household survey and communities were engaged through consultation events. The events provided an opportunity for local residents to discuss housing issues, explore the range of affordable options which could be delivered, and allowed local landowners to come forward with sites to develop affordable housing to support long-term community sustainability.