celebrating the success of carpenters yard

4 million homes are missing in the UK, as families are left desperate for more affordable housing. Amid the crisis, positive change is taking root at Carpenters Yard, Shepherdswell, where our managing director, Tom Morris, recently visited the development that’s redefining the future of affordable rural housing. Meeting Rural and Community Housing Manager from RACE, Tess O’Sullivan, we learned how this project goes beyond building homes and revitalises a community. While ten new homes doesn’t sound a lot on paper, this project is at the heart of positive change that may just help unlock part of the UK’s housing crisis.

Carpenters Yard started over ten years ago when the village’s parish council undertook a parish plan to assess the community’s needs leading to a demand for affordable housing. The objective was simple – create homes for local people below market rates and ensure their affordability in perpetuity. By excluding the right to buy, these homes are safeguarded for future generations, allowing residents to remain rooted in their communities.

Developed by English Rural, the homes at Carpenters Yard exceed standard building regulations, as they’re energy efficient and built with the environment in mind, including features like hedgerows and a badger corridor. The homes also have excellent connections to footpaths, the school, and the train station and are a testament to thoughtful planning and environmental stewardship. Affordable housing is more than a roof over heads, it’s important for maintaining community cohesion, as without it, villages risk a slow decline as residents are forced to leave due to escalating costs.

“It’s not just about a place to live, it’s about well-being and belonging.” – Tom Morris

“It’s a micro-scale solution with a big impact.” – Tess O’Sullivan

Carpenters Yard is the first community land trust project of its kind in Kent, providing much needed housing for local residents and setting a precedent for other community-led groups. RACE is actively working with communities to identify housing need and spaces in Kent and Medway for similar projects to commence. Once a housing need is confirmed, RACE collaborates with local authorities to identify suitable land for small developments, typically eight to ten homes. In Kent alone, there’s around a 100 local need rural housing schemes that RACE would like to see continue, yet the potential is much greater. As communities realise that they have the power to drive initiatives like these, schemes like Carpenters Yard could become the norm rather than the exception.

“Carpenters Yard is truly inspirational. The simplicity of building a small number of homes in a rural area could be the answer we’re looking for. Why aren’t more schemes like this being developed, and why isn’t the government backing them? It was eye-opening.” – Tom Morris

An estimated 8.4 million people across then UK are living in unsuitable or unaffordable housing, creating an overwhelming crisis. However, affordable rural housing presents a clear solution – keeping communities together, providing stability, and helping to ease the housing crisis one village at a time. We firmly believe that if there were more developments like Carpenters Yard, we would be one step closer to addressing the pressing housing issues facing the UK today.