Property developers stockpiling real estate should be fined by the government in order to promote housebuilding in the countryside, farming campaigners say.
Those who want to work in agriculture are finding it difficult to find affordable homes when developers 'sit on the land', pressure group Kent Rural said in a report.
Resources director George Jessel, who himself owns a farm in Brabourne, Kent, said young farmers and graduates want to have a rural job but the cost of housing in a local village close to work is far too high.
He said: "They rely on the bank of mum and dad to support them and the government should be helping people to buy a house.
"Developers are buying huge chunks of land and, because of the economic slowdown, are not building houses where they are needed," he said.
"How do we break that deadlock? We have got to find a way ofd housing people in areas where they want to work."
But Kent Developer's Group chairman Nick Fenton told Kent Online that it is not about accusing developers of sitting on land.
"I'm sure there are examples of it but some of the figures include sites which are waiting on planning permission and some have planning conditions that need to be met first.
"We need to encourage the development of rural homes but it is not about accusing developers of sitting on land."
Right to buy
The Country, Land and Business Association (CLA) said last year that barriers to stop landowners keen to build and manage affordable homes in the countryside must be removed.
The organisation warned that government policies such extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants discouraged landowners from making sites available because the homes would become unaffordable in the future.
CLA Housing Adviser Matthew O’Connell said: "The most common method for landowners to help solve the acute shortage of housing in rural areas is to sell land at a discount to housing associations to build affordable homes.
"However, since the introduction of the Voluntary Right to Buy (VRTB) many landowners are reluctant to pursue projects over concern homes will not stay affordable in perpetuity.
"Some housing associations are committed to keeping properties in the affordable sector but the policy has already meant fewer sites coming forward.
"The government must exempt Rural Exception Sites from the VRTB to restore confidence that this vital source of supply for rural affordable housing can continue."
'Significant appetite among landowners'
According to the CLA, whose members provide nearly 40% of all private rented housing in rural areas, local authorities should be more open to landowners owning and managing their own affordable housing projects.
Mr O’Connell added: "Very few of these arrangements take place despite significant appetite among landowners.
They have the capacity to play a greater role in providing affordable housing if the right incentives are in place.
"A range of solutions which increase supply must be explored so that communities themselves can decide what is best for their local area."
