Rural communities will break down without more affordable housing in the countryside, according to the Countryside Agency.

Launching a new guide on preventing homelessness in rural areas, Ewan Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency, said that villages and small towns are not providing sufficient housing to enable people on low incomes to stay in their communities and, in many rural areas, homelessness is a growing problem.

Forum Response: Countryside Agency

Ewan Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency, told ePolitix.com: "The rise in house prices in relation to local wages and the scarcity of social housing is leading to increasing problems of accommodation for key workers and local families in rural areas.

"Homelessness, particularly amongst the young, is now not unusual in the countryside. But many local authorities are not able to provide the homes and advice needed to prevent rural homelessness. Nearly 40% of rural districts have no emergency accommodation at all for young people.

"Being homeless is a damaging experience. The lack of emergency accommodation or advice in rural areas make a bad situation worse. This guide provides local authorities and the voluntary sector with some excellent examples and advice on how they can prevent homelessness in the countryside. I hope they will put it into practice.

"But this is only tackling the result of the problem, not the cause. In the longer term the real answer is to provide more affordable housing in the countryside "

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Richard Burge, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, told ePolitix.com: "Since the publication of the State of the Countryside Report a few weeks ago a lot has been published on the issue of rural housing, which we hope will sway how the government handles this critical issue.

"We have long been calling for more affordable housing in rural areas and have called on government to recognise the importance of keeping communities together and keeping them viable. Only 20 per cent of affordable social housing built from 1997 to 2001 was rural and this must change.

"The skills of rural people contribute hugely to the rural economy, but if they cannot afford to live where they work they will be forced to move. It is imperative that ministers take on board this important new guide and we hope that it will go a long way to ensuring the survival and prosperity of rural Britain. Rural homelessness has risen at more than three times the rate of urban areas - this tide must be turned."

Forum Response: Shelter

A spokesman for Shelter told ePolitix.com: "Homelessness is a real problem in many rural areas and one that is far less visible than in towns and cities. Homelessness figures often fail to show the real picture in the countryside, because people have to travel to urban areas to get help with their housing.

"There is a real lack of services for homeless people in rural areas and the Homelessness Act provides an opportunity for local authorities to address this.

"Many young people struggle to afford somewhere to live because property prices have been driven upwards, often by people buying second homes that are left empty for long periods.

"Shelter strongly supports proposals to end council tax discounts on second homes and would welcome plans to charge extra council tax on some long-term empty homes, with the revenue earmarked for spending on meeting housing need."

Forum Response: Centrepoint

A spokeswoman for Centrepoint told ePolitix.com: "Centrepoint welcome the publication today of the Countryside Agency's good practice guide on preventing homelessness in rural areas.

"With the implementation of the Homelessness Act next month, it is vital that rural local authorities are adequately resourced to produce effective homelessness strategies and include a section dedicated to young people.

"From our own recent survey, it is clear that rural areas face particular hurdles in detecting and tackling youth homelessness. Respondents identified 'the perception that homelessness does not exist in rural areas' as one of the biggest barriers facing those young people who experience it.

"Homeless and socially excluded young people also need to be supported into learning and earning. In rural areas this will entail closely linking homelessness strategies with transport to produce real outcomes for young people.

"Partnership work between the statutory and voluntary sectors is crucial if we are to effectively tackle youth homelessness and social exclusion in rural areas and Centrepoint will continue to work with the Countryside Agency in achieving this aim."