Ministers must exempt homes in rural communities from new Right to Buy powers or risk a catastrophic drop in affordable homes for local people, says the CLA.

The organisation, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses in England and Wales, made the call in response to the Chancellor’s Budget speech today.

CLA President Henry Robinson said: “The housing crisis is most acute across rural England and Wales. Extending Right to Buy to Housing Association tenants would turn a challenging situation into a catastrophe and it is vital Ministers put in place a specific exemption from the policy for homes in rural communities.

“Across the countryside there are landowners that want to provide land for affordable housing, they understand that this means selling it at less than market value for this purpose. They will not do this if they know the homes will eventually be sold off into the open market and not kept for those in most need within their communities.

“In order to retain and deliver new homes that are desperately needed in rural areas, Government needs to develop a rural-specific housing strategy that tackles the major barriers such as slow and inconsistent adoption of local plans. We will work with Government to ensure that well designed rural homes are delivered in the right places.”