Housing Conflict and Domestic Property Classes in Rural Wales

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest amongst rural researchers in housing issues in the British countryside. While much of this work has consisted of policy reports highlighting the plight of low-incomed, predominantly younger members of rural society in their search for affordable housing opportunities, in two recent publications Shucksmith has attempted to introduce elements of Weberian housing theory into rural housing research. In this paper, based on research in rural Wales in the early 1990s, I examine such a theoretical approach to the study of rural housing. I explore Saunders's notion of domestic property classes in a rural context and those conflicts surrounding additional housing development in the countryside. I suggest that, although housing tenure plays an important part in influencing residents' opposition to further housing and perceptions of housing need in the local area, other factors including occupational class, stage in the life cycle, and lifestyle are also worthy of consideration. Moreover, it is argued that interests within the private capital class would appear to be more complicated than previously outlined.