Property and power in the English countryside: the case of housing

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse and reflect on the changing relations of class and power in rural England, with a particular focus on housing.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the evidence concerning the changing ownership of housing and land in English rural areas, and the problems relating to this.Findings – The paper finds that, in spite of huge social changes over the course of the 20th century, relations of class and power in rural England have retained the same basic form, based on landownership. The countryside continues to be dominated by landowners, who now include large numbers of nouveaux riches, while the landless (and carless) find it increasingly difficult to access housing, employment and basic services and amenities in rural areas. Landowner dominance is maintained not only by the rule of private property and property markets, but also by a state planning system that is heavily biased towards landowning classes and against the poor.Research limitations/impli...