A range of top executives from the housing, economic and finance sectors gathered last week for our Rural Experience visit to Essex to hear about the rural housing crisis. They:

• met local residents involved with a proposed housing scheme in the village of Abbess Roding

• visited the market town of Great Dunmow to talk with Citizens Advice, Saffron Building Society and Mullucks Wells Estate Agent about the effects of the recession

• met the residents of a successful housing scheme in the village of Thaxted

Sir Bob Kerslake talks to residents at Abbess Roding

Each participant is submitting details of what they will do as a result of the visit and will also receive a debriefing session. We'll collate this information and feed it into our evidence to the National Economic Council.

The visit was led by Sir Bob Kerslake, Chief Executive of the Homes and Communities Agency:

“What will really stay with me from the visit are the human interest stories. The local builder who needed an affordable home in his village for his family but felt his voice wasn’t heard in the planning system; the courageous parish councillor who was battling against the odds to get an affordable housing scheme built; and the severely disabled young man whose first home in the same village as his father had provided him with dignity and independence. To me these stories illustrate the issues that the rural housing debate is all about”.

Delegates hear about the state of the housing market at Mullucks Wells Estates Agents

Stuart Burgess, our chair and the Government's Rural Advocate, hosted a pre-visit working dinner for the participants:

“This first Rural Experience has been a real success. Rural housing continues to be the most pressing concern for rural people and I hope by getting together many of the key players in the debate we will see some real progress in dealing with the issues surrounding rural housing. I will also be reporting directly back to the Prime Minister on the key points emanating from the visit”.

Delegates outside the Little Maypole housing scheme in Thaxted