LOVE thy neighbour – though not if you don’t have to, appears to be the message.

An antiNimby taskforce set up to coax country-dwellers into allowing more housing development has learnt that its funding from the Government will dry up next month, reports Inside Housing(Feb 1).

The jobs of the network of 57 rural housing enablers are under threat and, not surprisingly, they are questioning the logic of their predicament.

Andy Lloyd, a rural housing enabler for West Dorset, says: “It’s sad that at a time when affordable housing forms a significant element of the political agenda, it appears there are conflicting messages about the plight of rural communities.”

Meanwhile, in urban areas it is students who are unwelcome in the proverbial back-yard. The Government is considering changing planning laws to prevent “studentification” reports Regeneration and Renewal (Feb 8). Student areas should be dispersed, Simon Llewellyn, of the Department for Communities and Local Government, told a British Property Federation conference. New planning categories, such as a new land use class specifically for houses in multiple occupation, could lead to a wider distribution of student houses in urban areas, he added.

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