Rural Areas Policies

Rural General Policies

This section relates to general policies, and not place specific such as the naming of rural settlements or housing numbers. The more place-specific aspects will be subject to a further consultation in the summer of 2022. 

These general policies more specifically seek to address:

• Housing in open countryside.
• Agricultural, forestry and other occupational dwellings in the countryside.
• Reuse and adaption of rural buildings.

Housing in Rural Areas

Herefordshire is predominantly a rural county, with around 53% of its population living in rural areas outside of the five market towns and Hereford City. 

To ensure the future sustainability and resilience of rural communities it’s important that the right type and volume of housing is built in the right locations. This requires planning for growth in way which will strengthen rural communities and ultimately maximising the benefits that could come from growth such as increasing opportunities for the retention and upgrade of key services and/or delivery of new ones. 

View the Rural Policy Options

Go to Policy Options Questions