Give credit where credit's due

Rural housing enablers are but one partner among many and it is only through dynamic partnership working that rural housing is delivered (6 February, page 22). Many rural planning and housing authorities have taken an active enabling role and delivered new affordable homes on difficult sites long before the emergence of housing enablers.

For many years, registered social landlords have played a key role in identifying sites, negotiating with landowners and attracting Housing Corporation grant to fund new schemes. Forward-thinking parish councils have undertaken needs surveys and promoted the cause of affordable homes for local people; socially conscious landowners have been providing free or discounted sites for affordable homes, and so on.

Housing enablers can give added capacity to existing partnerships but they cannot, on their own, "bring about the development of 45 homes … secure grant … build affordable houses". What they can do is act as catalysts and support the work of other partners.

North Dorset District Council has taken an innovative and active role in the provision of affordable rural homes. We fund Rachel Kalis' post as a rural housing enabler in partnership with other district councils and RSLs. Planners at North Dorset are not unhelpful and often seek to enable the provision of rural homes on both allocated and exception sites (the scheme at Shroton was supported by the council but overruled by the Government Office for the South-west). The council is this year offering almost £1m of its own capital programme as grant to RSLs to deliver new rural homes next year.