The CLA has backed Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis’ calls to prioritise the building of bungalows for older people, freeing up larger family homes.

The organisation said for a number of years it has highlighted the lack of housing available in rural areas for older generations, leaving many with no choice but to relocate to towns.

CLA President Henry Robinson said: “A lack of house building in the countryside has meant that for decades older people in villages have been left unable to downsize. Reluctant to move into urban areas where they would lose their support networks, they are choosing to remain in large family houses which are costly to run.

“By 2021, 54 percent of households will be aged over 65 yet the current housing supply is failing to meet the needs of an aging population. Mr Lewis is absolutely right to promote the building of bungalows which will allow older people to stay in the countryside while simultaneously freeing up family properties, and lessening the housing shortage.

“The Government must not allow housing density targets designed for urban areas to limit the provision of bungalow housing in rural locations.”

The organisation said it backed Mr Lewis’s call for traditional, “quintessentially British” design in the provision of bungalows.

Mr Robinson said: “Good design is crucial in all new developments and bungalows are no exception. We are happy to share with the Minister our examples of well-designed bungalows of traditional appearance."