Bid to dent rural housing shortage is equivalent to three years of Corporation development
The National Trust is considering plans to designate its 5000 homes as social housing in a bid to tackle the shortage of affordable rural homes.

The heritage charity's move would provide the same number of affordable rural homes as the Housing Corporation's development programme for the next three years.

It would be half the number of new homes that the Countryside Agency estimates are needed every year for the next 10 years.

The homes, which range from cottages to small manor houses, would be rented to key workers priced out of the housing market in towns and villages.

The National Trust has also considered offering land on the edge of villages to housing associations for small-scale development.

It is on the verge of striking a pilot deal with Cumbria's Impact Housing Association to convert derelict outbuildings into housing.

The trust's land use director, David Riddle, said: "We are asking ourselves, to what extent should we be contributing to the delivery of affordable housing?"

Most of the charity's properties, which are spread across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, are let privately at the moment.

The trust is a major landlord in areas including Lacock in Wiltshire, Mottisfont in Hampshire and the Holnicote estate in Exmoor National Park.

It has just finished consulting members, staff and rural housing organisations on whether to let the homes at affordable rates and take on many of the responsibilities of a registered social landlord.

It expects to compile its new lettings policy by June but does not intend to register with the Housing Corporation.

We are asking ourselves, to what extent should we contribute to the delivery of affordable housing?

David Riddle, land use director, National Trust

The scheme would be similar to that of the Crown Estate, which lets 1300 properties at affordable rents to key workers in London and Windsor.

Jenny Harris, policy officer at the National Housing Federation, said: "There is a rural affordable housing crisis and the National Trust could play a crucial role in alleviating that. It has got 5000 buildings, which could make a powerful impact."

Although the government has set a target for 5000 affordable homes to be built in rural areas by 2007, the Housing Corporation has halved its rural output over the past five years, with just 975 completions in 2001/2, the last year for which figures are available.

The National Trust has also considered bringing forward small sites on the edge of villages – known as "exception sites" – for the development of affordable housing.

Where the land has been left to the trust in perpetuity, it could be offered to housing associations on a long lease, Riddle said.

There are no estimates of how much land could be available for such schemes, but the trust owns 248,000 ha in total.

It is already in talks with Cumbrian landlord Impact about a pilot scheme that could bring derelict buildings back into use.

The trust owns in perpetuity two barns in Keswick in the Lake District National Park but does not have the money to restore them.

Impact wants to take over the barns on a 60-year lease, with corporation grant and a percentage of the rent funding the refurbishment.