Affordable Housing Needs Surveys
Affordable Housing Needs Surveys
GRCC is the provider of Affordable Housing Needs Surveys for Gloucestershire. These are arranged annually by the Gloucestershire Rural Housing Partnership (GRHP), whose members include Tewkesbury Borough Council, and Stroud, Cotswold, and Forest of Dean District Councils (i.e. the four rural local planning authorities in the county), as well as six Housing Associations and Homes England.
Affordable Housing Needs Surveys are the opportunity for residents in a geographical area to identify themselves as being in affordable housing need. We gather this data, alongside data drawn from a variety of other sources, to provide a robust planning evidence-base which is a mandatory requirement for the delivery of affordable housing.
We also produce Affordable Housing Needs Reports based on the ‘sustainability’ principle of planning. These provide an evidence-base to show where affordable housing is needed even where data on self-identified need is not available, to safeguard the future of thriving and active communities.
We also undertake bespoke Affordable Housing Needs Surveys, and would encourage you to get in touch as early as possible if you are interested in asking us to carry out a Housing Needs Survey on your organisation's behalf.
For more information please email affordablehousing@grcc.org.uk
Project News
June 2026
Do you have a link to Nailsworth?
GRCC is partnering with Stroud District Council (SDC) and Nailsworth Town Council to launch an affordable housing needs survey. Over the coming months, every household and business in the parish will receive a survey by post, with online options also available.
This survey is your opportunity to share your specific affordable housing needs, housing difficulties, and future vision for the area.
Share Your Thoughts Early
Before the official survey begins, we want to hear how you see your parish. We are launching pre-engagement activities in the coming weeks to gather a community-inspired view.
We need your local knowledge to plan our visits:
- Tell us which local groups we should meet.
- Inform us about upcoming community events.
- Suggest key locations where we can talk to residents.
Get in Touch
If you know of an event or want to invite us to speak with your group, please contact the GRCC Affordable Rural Housing Team on 01452 528491 or email affordablehousing@grcc.org.uk
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April 2026 - GRCC (Gloucestershire Rural Community Council) is calling on Longford residents to help shape the future of local affordable housing in the parish.
A parish-wide Affordable Housing Needs Survey is currently underway to identify the specific housing requirements of your community. The data collected will provide vital evidence for the delivery of Affordable Housing in your community.
If you have a housing connection to Longford Parish but have not received a paper copy of the survey through your letterbox, you can still participate online.
- Survey Link: https://online1.snapsurveys.com/jtqqf0
- Deadline: The survey remains open until the end of May.
- Eligibility: Open to all current residents and those with local family or work ties to Longford Parish.
Your input is essential to help us understand whether there is a need for affordable housing, bungalows, or smaller family homes in the area. All responses are processed by GRCC and remain completely anonymous.
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March 2026 - Our Affordable Housing team will be out and about in Nailsworth over the next few weeks, in preparation for the Nailsworth Affordable Housing Needs Survey which we're running in partnership with Nailsworth Town Council and Stroud District Council. Read more here (pdf).
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October 2025 - Our survey leads to a community-led housing project featured on Panorama
GRCC undertook a Housing Needs Survey on behalf of Eastington Parish Council which provided an evidence base to use for their first community-led housing development. This community-led housing project was featured in the BBC Panorama programme "The race to build 1.5 million homes" which you can watch on BBC Iplayer
Contact the project manager
Testimonials
Parish Clerk
Gloucestershire
I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you very much for attending last night's meeting at our Parish Council. The Councillors and some audience members who stayed to the end of the meeting expressed how good it was – appreciating how thorough and clear the talk was and in particular how well you answered the many varied questions and knew the subject so well. We hope you achieved what you had hoped for from the meeting too and look forward to working with you.
Parish Councillor
Gloucestershire
Many thanks for giving of your time last night to present the GRCC’s survey on housing need. Your presentation was well received and certainly contributed to a successful meeting on which we hope the PC can build in future.
Project manager
Barbara Pond
Barbara is our Head of Operations and Business Development, and manages GRCC projects spanning a wide range of areas including Affordable Housing and Community Wellbeing.