Frequently Asked Questions

The results of the Housing Needs Survey carried out in August 2023 by the Rural Housing Enabler at  Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity  indicated there was a need for a development of affordable homes for local people within the Parish.    

The results identified a need for 13 affordable homes from 25 households.  The Bedford Estate invited English Rural to partner with them to assist with the redesign of the current approved scheme to incorporate the provision of new affordable homes to address to the shortage in the Parish.  The  eight new affordable homes will be for people who are:

• Unable to afford to buy in the Parish;

• Who cannot find rented accommodation; and 

• Who have a strong local connection to the village and the community

The affordable rent and shared ownership homes can never be sold on the open market and they are reserved in perpetuity for local people. 

The Bedford Estate invited English Rural to partner with them to assist with the redesign of the current approved scheme to deliver a scheme which not only was more in keeping with the rural location but also allowed for the provision of much needed affordable homes within the Parish.

Due to the increasing cost of development, affordable schemes can realistically only be delivered with the support of enlightened landowners who understand the benefits that  providing land for affordable housing bring to the wider community.

 English Rural also receive some grant funding from Homes England (a Government agency) to help us build the affordable homes, however we have to raise the bulk of the finance ourselves.  

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) endeavours to help bridge this funding gap by encouraging the use of cross-subsidy on what would normally be regarded as Rural Exception Sites.  Paragraph 78 of the NPPF states that "Local planning authorities should support opportunities to bring forward rural exception sites that will provide affordable housing to meet identified local needs, and consider whether allowing some market housing on these sites would help to facilitate this".  The two shared ownership properties will provide a cross subsidy to support the six affordable rent homes and  will be available to purchase by people with a proven local connection who wish to stay within the Parish.

The remainder of the site will be retained by The Bedford Estate, who require a small number of private market rent homes to support their requirement for estate worker homes as well as enabling the Estate to release land for affordable housing.

'Local' means a person who:

• Is currently resident in the parish;

• Was previously resident in the parish and wants to return;

• Is permanently employed in the parish; or 

• Is connected by close family still living in the parish

"Shared Ownership" is a scheme which allows an occupier to buy/mortgage a share of the new build property from English Rural Housing Association.  The association retains ownership of the remaining share and the occupier will pay rent on this share, as you would to any other landlord.  

In Central Bedfordshire, the share for sale is initially set at 40% of the properties open market value with the ability of people to purchase additional shares in the property over time; this is known as ‘staircasing’ and is restricted to a maximum 80% share in a property. 

Households best suited to shared ownership will be on a moderate household income. The eligibility criterion requires that households earn less than £60,000 a year as a household to qualify for shared ownership housing.

The rent figures are to be set but affordable rent is subject to rent controls that require a rent of no more than 80% of the local market rent.

If a future vacancy occurs in one of the homes and no one from Woburn Parish, with the qualifying connection, is in need at that time, then applicants with similar connections to neighbouring Parishes will be considered.  The names of the Parishes close to Woburn will be agreed with the Parish Council and will be specified in the planning agreement.  However, it is very rare that we have to look for applicants from outside the Parish in which a development has been built. 

Before planning permission is granted, we will enter into a legally enforceable planning agreement with the Local Authority to ensure that the affordable homes are allocated to local people and can never be sold on the open market.

NO. The statutory Right to Buy applies to Council owned properties only. A similar, but less generous scheme, the Right to Acquire  is available to Housing Association tenants, but not those in smaller designated rural settlements.  The Parish has the designation of a smaller rural settlement and therefore tenants will not be able to buy or acquire their rented homes, thus preserving their affordable status for future generations of local people.

We build affordable low-energy homes that are based on a Fabric-First approach and include the principles of passive design.  Our homes are well  insulated, comfortable and quiet to live in. They are warm in winter and cool in summer, with good daylight and internal air quality.   We install Air Source Heat Pumps to assist our residents in reducing both their fuel bills and their carbon emissions.    

Following this consultation event and with the support of the Parish Council, we will progress the detailed design of the development and assemble the many surveys and reports required to support a planning application.  These will include, amongst many others, full consideration of current and proposed ecology, biodiversity, drainage and transportation.  Following a planning application submission, all documents will be viewable online via the Central Bedfordshire Council planning portal.  This online consultation enable us to gain feedback from local residents for review and consideration with the Estate and Parish Council prior to submission of the planning application.  

We are aiming to submit a planning application in early 2024, with a view to commencing construction the following year.

English Rural is asking people, who have a local connection and need an affordable home, and who are interested in applying for one of the proposed homes, to register their interest by clicking the tab at the top of the page.  Alternatively you can visit our website at englishrural.org.uk and read more about what we do.  If you prefer, you can also call 020 7820 7930 to request a form or speak to someone about registering. 

Applicants interested in looking for an affordable rented home within the Parish will also need to register with Central Bedfordshire Council and access to the online application is via the  Central Bedfordshire website  https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/info/74/housing/341/apply_for_housing_housing_register_and_bidding_for_housing  or telephone 0300 300 8302 .