The Longleigh Foundation has selected the University of Liverpool as its project partner for research into the rural housing crisis.

The study, which was made possible thanks to funding from leading housing provider Stonewater, and the Fusion21 Foundation, will examine how affordable housing can help alleviate housing shortages faced by rural communities in the UK.

The research will also give practical policy recommendations of how existing barriers can be overcome, in partnership with local communities. The University of Liverpool project team will be led by Dr Tom Moore, senior lecturer in housing and planning. Dr Moore will be the principal investigator, and will be joined by Professor Nick Gallent, Dr Andrew Purves and Professor Richard Dunning.

The research team were successful with its proposal of a four-stage project, which will include an evaluation of existing research, as well as collecting new evidence from rural housing customers and professionals, culminating in project reporting and dissemination, with the aim of shaping future policy.

Stonewater will provide £30,000 in funding, with the Fusion21 Foundation matching the sum.

The Longleigh Foundation is an independent grant-making foundation – established by Stonewater in 2015. The Longleigh Foundation provides individual grants to social housing customers in crisis, funds specialist organisations that offer customers support with mental and financial wellbeing, and invests in research projects informed by insights from their grass-roots work with social housing customers.

Aileen Edmunds, CEO at Longleigh Foundation, says: “We’re delighted to be working with the expert team at the University of Liverpool on this research project. Their thorough application clearly demonstrated their knowledge and experience in rural housing, and we know they’ll be an asset to this study.

“We’re excited to see how the research will develop and are eager to discover how the findings can be used to lead the way in solving the issues facing rural communities across the UK.

“We anticipate the results will be pivotal to the work of the social housing sector, and help to increase the offering of affordable homes in rural communities.”

Dr Tom Moore, senior lecturer in housing and planning at the University of Liverpool, adds: “My colleagues and I are thrilled to have been offered the chance to work on this venture with Longleigh.

“We’re pleased that our application demonstrates our commitment to delving deeper into the issues facing rural housing and how these can be overcome to enable rural communities to thrive.

“Our findings will be able to clarify and pinpoint the solutions to improve and build on support for social and affordable housing in rural communities”.

The project will be completed in June 2025, in preparation for the results to be launched in time for the National Housing Federation’s annual Rural Housing Week in July.

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