Too many people have had to move away from the villages and areas they have grown up in and away from their families because of the house prices in South Cambridgeshire. Rural Exception Sites can guarantee, in perpetuity, a proportion of houses for local people who wish to buy a home in the area in which they live, or where they have close family or work ties.

The key differences between this type of site compared with other affordable housing options are:

• The whole development provides either 100% affordable housing or limits the amount of market housing to only the number needed to make the site deliverable on viability grounds. The amount of profit a developer can make is limited and they must prove evidence of the need for market homes.  Failing to do so means developers have no option but to build 100% affordable homes.

• Any future occupants must have a local connection in order to qualify to live in these houses.

Rural Exception Sites allow villages and communities to thrive as there are enough young people and families to support schools and other amenities. We know that local residents in South Cambridgeshire are concerned about younger people being driven away from their villages because of rising house prices. This has led to a feeling that communities are changing for the worse and becoming less diverse. Children are forced to move away from their parents and grandparents have to watch their families grow from afar. Of course, our villages will change and evolve with time, but it is important that, where possible, policy provides local housing for local people who want to stay within their communities.