Rural areas are facing specific local challenges such as affordable housing, an ageing population, rural isolation, and reduced accessibility. Rural communities make up 50% of Wiltshire’s population living in 95% of the geographic area.

We have recently begun a 5 year rolling programme of rural housing needs surveys in collaboration with parish councils and partner housing associations in order to help better understand the needs of our rural communities.

More information on the rural housing survey can be found on the Wiltshire council website.

For an assessment of rural communities and services please see the Rural facilities survey.

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) provides information on a range of potential housing sites and gives an indication of how dwelling requirements could potentially be met. This evidence is used to inform the LDF Core Strategy and Site Allocation Development Plan Documents. There is currently a joint SHLAA covering north, east and west Wiltshire (the former North Wiltshire, Kennet and West Wiltshire districts) and a separate report covering the south Wiltshire area. These reports can be accessed here, along with a review of the housing market in the north, east and west Wiltshire areas.

A Private Sector House Condition Survey for Wiltshire was carried out in 2009. Re-modelling of the data from this survey has allowed the information to be examined at Community Area level, and an analysis of this information is available in the report below. The report provides maps of the Community Areas with estimates of the percentage of dwellings within each of the following 9 parameters:

• Non Decent dwellings
• Dwellings with inadequate thermal comfort
• Dwellings with Category 1 HHSRS hazards
• Dwellings in disrepair
• Dwellings with non modern amenities
• Dwellings suffering from a Category 1 Excess cold hazard
• Households estimated to be in fuel poverty
• Numbers of vulnerable households
• Number of vulnerable households in decent homes as a percentage of all vulnerable households  

The development of employment land across Wiltshire County is surveyed annually. This informaiton is aggregated with equivalent data from Swindon to produce the Employment Land and Floorspace Report, which is used to monitor the employment land quanta to 2016, as set out in local planning policies.

A summary Strategic Flood Risk Assessment for Wiltshire is available here, along with Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessments for the former district areas of Wiltshire.

An assessment of the landscape character of Wiltshire was produced in 2005 to assess the status of the landscape in Wiltshire, furthering the understanding of the landscape resource available in the area and giving an indication of the areas in need of enhancement and of conservation. The assessment can be accessed by clicking here. A landscape character assessment for the Cotswold Water Park is also available.

The government, through the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), has produced a set of data that aids the assessment of levels of deprivation across England. These data, known as the Indices of Deprivation, provide information at small geographic levels (LSOA level) and are an important tool for identifying the most disadvantaged areas. Within this there is an inded reflecting barriers to housing and services. For more information and a Wiltshire breakdown of the indices of deprivation please see the community section.