A new government-commissioned report into rural housing has set out the action required to tackle the issue of affordable homes in countryside areas.
The Living Working Countryside review, led by Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor, states that a "fundamental shake up of planning and affordable housing" is needed to revitalise and bring prosperity to rural communities.
It says workers on low countryside wages are struggling to purchase homes for sale where they live, as prices have risen beyond their reach over the last ten years, driven by demand from second home buyers.
Recommendations made in the report include new planning policies to encourage business growth in small towns and villages and to preserve properties for local residents only.
Commenting on the report, Mr Taylor said: "Urgent action is vital to stop villages dying and our market towns being wrecked by unsympathetic development."
He said just a "handful" of well designed, affordable new homes would make a difference to the sustainability of rural communities.
Last week, housing minister Caroline Flint called on local authorities to do more to tackle rural housing problems, suggesting some were stifling development.
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