TEST Valley Borough Council have agreed to accept a new scheme for rural affordable housing.

The authority had been previously committed to the Hampshire Alliance for Affordable Housing (HARAH) programme, which seeks to provide affordable homes in rural communities.

Rural housing is defined as affordable housing in settlements of a population of 3,000 people or fewer.

As part of the programme, made up of several bodies including six local councils across Hampshire, TVBC were signed up to a Memorandum of Understanding with housing provider Hyde Housing Association.

The scheme, which has produced 96 rural affordable houses in Test Valley since its creation in 2005, was due to run until March, 2018.

However, Hyde announced its intention last year to stop development in four of the six local authority areas, including Test Valley, prompting HARAH to search for a new provider.

The search was concluded in March this year when the HARAH partnership agreed to a ‘Consortium of Registered Providers’, made up of five members.

These are Hastoe, the lead consortium member, English Rural, New Forest Villages, Petersfield, Winchester Housing Trust.

The partnership was impressed by the partnership’s strong local links and their ‘cohesive and united partnership with shared goals’.

HARAH’s members board met last month to agree to the new proposals, which will run until 2020 with a target of 50 rural homes across Hampshire per year.

The proposals were subsequently put before TVBC’s cabinet last Wednesday where they were accepted by councillors.

A TVBC spokesperson said: “The Cabinet agreed that the Housing and Environmental Health Portfolio Holder would sign a new Memorandum of Understanding which explains the new partnership working arrangements for the development of rural affordable housing in Test Valley.

“Previously, the HARAH Members’ Board agreed to appoint a Consortium of Registered Providers to increase resilience following Hyde Housing Association’s withdrawal from the agreement.

Now that Cabinet has agreed this, it confirms that TVBC is supportive of the new arrangement.”