‘Discounted homes’ is the message residents want to hear

Residents know what ‘affordable’ means

Three in four residents said their housing costs had risen in the past year. More than 70% said housing in Uttlesford was not affordable, and two-thirds thought more homes were needed in the area.

In other words, people recognise the crisis. However, when asked what kind of homes they actually want built, their answers reveal something more specific, and more hopeful.

Residents support the inclusion of discounted homes because the concept is easy to understand. It’s tangible, transparent and fair. Everyone can picture what a 20% discount means to a deposit or mortgage. It speaks to aspiration and local opportunity rather than subsidy.

By contrast, shared ownership, once the flagship model for helping first-time buyers, now carries a trust problem. It feels technical, contractual and uncertain. People worry about costs, restrictions and resale. It doesn’t sound like ownership, and that’s fatal in communications terms.

When housing professionals use terms like ‘intermediate tenure’, ‘affordable rent’ or ‘shared equity’, residents hear abstraction. When we say, ‘discounted homes for first-time buyers’, they hear hope.

Development that feels human

The research also tested awareness of the City & Country plans for new homes at Stansted Mountfitchet. More than half of respondents thought the village was a suitable location for a new development.

Meanwhile, 85% believed affordable homes should be prioritised for local people, and 64% for key workers such as NHS staff and teachers.

The discounted sale models reinforce that fairness. They allow residents to imagine a direct, personal benefit: their children or colleagues might actually stay in the area. For younger residents, particularly those under 45, the support for discounted homes was even stronger.

The insight from this research is simple but powerful: the way we talk about housing can make or break public trust.

As housing providers, developers and councils grapple with how to meet the country’s affordability challenge, and with development projects becoming more challenging from a viability perspective, discounted homes could become an effective way of delivering affordable housing that people want.

A new local consensus: build homes that feel attainable

City & Country should be applauded for undertaking more robust and rigorous pre-application consultation, engaging with communities in a meaningful way rather than sticking to the usual ‘tick-box’ exercise.

Our work at Shared Voice demonstrates that when you hear the views of a representative sample, you get a much more positive response to development proposals. You also get a better understanding of the genuine sentiment of a community.

Beyond the tenure debate, the Uttlesford findings reveal a nuanced but pragmatic local mood. More than 70% of residents support plans that deliver at least half of new homes as affordable.

If the sector is serious about rebuilding trust, it must listen – and respond – to what people actually value. In Uttlesford, that means including discounted homes that give first-time buyers a genuine foothold in their own area.

Wyn Evans, co-founder and director, Shared Voice