Bringing accessible and affordable rural housing into the spotlight

Bessie Farr is a rural affordable housing research volunteer who currently supports our Rural Policy and Campaigns Officer at National CPRE, Brad Taylor. She spoke with us about how volunteering has not only provided her with valuable skills and experience, but also enlightened her to new perspectives of the countryside and rural issues.

Gaining practical research experience

After finishing her social anthropology master’s programme, Bessie was looking to gain some experience in the charity sector: ‘I was already working part-time, but I wanted to do more campaigns and research work.’ Whilst scanning Charity Job for opportunities, she noticed the advertised rural affordable housing research volunteer role with National CPRE. ‘I thought it sounded really cool. I did my master’s thesis on housing uncertainty in London; it was something that I was already interested in,’ she tells us.

After applying for the opportunity, Bessie became a rural affordable housing research volunteer in January 2024. After a period of general research, Bessie started looking into accessible housing in rural England: ‘I looked at what was not so great, what was good and what could be better, and researched local authorities from each region, specifically those in rural areas.’

Bessie did find some of the planning jargon challenging to understand when conducting her research, but thankfully had help: ‘Everyone was really supportive when I was emailing with questions.’ Balancing the role alongside her other commitments wasn’t an issue either: ‘My job was more in person, and this was more independent, and desk based. I was working part-time which made it easier. It’s also really interesting…you want to spend a good chunk of time on it.’

Understanding new perspectives

Throughout her life, Bessie has mostly lived in urban areas and currently lives in London: ‘A lot of people who I went to school with had never really been to the countryside, whereas I’ve been lucky… I used to go camping in the countryside quite a lot.’ When she visits rural areas, Bessie is reminded about the beauty of the UK: ‘It’s so green, it’s crazy, I’ve never seen so many trees. It’s a really important thing for people to experience.’

Indeed, Bessie has developed a strong connection with the countryside: ‘If there’s a chance to get into nature, I will be there.’ However, through her research, she has come to realise that the countryside is often under-represented in key debates: ‘It’s definitely something that’s not always included or thought about a lot in conversations where it should be, including the housing crisis.’ Since investigating the current provision of accessible and affordable housing in rural communities, Bessie has noticed a gap: ‘I was surprised that there aren’t more charities and organisations focusing on it…it opened my eyes to that a bit more.’

‘Quite a lot of my friends who grew up in rural areas have now moved to urban areas. I think there’s a sense from them that the focus is not there on rural areas and that it’s not given the same amount of attention as urban areas. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between urban and rural.’

Volunteering as a development opportunity

Since she began volunteering with CPRE, Bessie has enjoyed the challenge: ‘I’ve built up confidence in my ability to do independent research’. She’s also been able to demonstrate her initiative and reflects that the experience has reinforced the importance of self-belief, but seeking support when needed: ‘It’s important to ask if you’re not sure…it’s okay if you don’t fully know.’

Excitingly, Bessie is soon moving on from her research role: ‘I’m starting a new job soon and Brad has written me a really nice reference; that was really generous of him.’ As she now takes the next step in her career, Bessie reflects on the experience of volunteering for CPRE: ‘I’ve definitely enjoyed it. It’s been a really positive experience and I’m really glad that I did it.’

Bessie strongly advocates volunteering: ‘If you’re trying to develop and maybe aren’t sure what you want to do, but you know you want to develop certain skills, volunteering is a brilliant way of doing that’ She adds: ‘You get a sense that you’re contributing to something, and t it also benefits you massively to gain so much experience and build your confidence.’

Bessie has also really enjoyed working with other volunteers: ‘You get a nice community feeling. I didn’t meet the other volunteers in my team in person, but we did over Teams, and it was really nice.

‘Volunteering is a really brilliant thing to do. It has practical and personal benefits, so I’d definitely recommend it.’

Find out more

If you think you’d like to volunteer for CPRE like Bessie and stand with the countryside, take a look at our volunteering pages and current opportunities, or get in touch with us at volunteeringteam@cpre.org.uk. You can find out more about our rural affordable housing campaign here.