Only 17% of a local authorities made use of rural exception sites in 2021/22, according to new research by University College London, on behalf of the Rural Housing Network.

Out of 145 rural local authorities, only 25 used rural exception sites to deliver affordable homes between 2021 and 2022, resulting in 546 homes being built.

However, according to UCL’s research, nearly 3,000 affordable homes could have been developed if the vast majority of rural councils had utilised rural exception sites during that period, with the NHF referring to this as “a massive, missed opportunity”.