The previous two chapters have provided wide-ranging discussions of the cultural and policy contexts of rural homelessness. In this chapter we want to explore the complex geographies of homelessness in rural England. We want to do this in two main ways. First, we provide key findings on the scale and nature of homelessness in England by drawing on unpublished government homelessness statistics and a national survey of all local authorities in England. In this section of the chapter we not only compare the extent and profile of homelessness in rural and urbanareas, but also consider the spatial unevenness of homelessness within rural areas. In the second main section of the chapter we explore the local spaces of rural homelessness in two districts located in the study county of Gloucestershire. Here we consider the ways in which local housing structures and cultures of rurality impact on the experiences of homelessness in these two rural districts.

The scale, profile and spatial unevenness of homelessness in rural England

An analysis of unpublished official homelessness statistics reveals that 15,950 households were accepted as priority homeless by local authorities in rural England in 1996. This level of rural homelessness represents 14.4% of the total for England and is equivalent to 70% of the homelessness figure for London (Table 5.1). In relative terms, though, standardised levels of homelessness in rural England are lower than in London and urban authority areas. In 1996, homelessness accounted for only 3.5 per 1,000 households in rural areas, compared with standardised rates of 7.6 and 5.7 per 1,000 households in London and urban areas respectively. Infact, 19 of the 20 local authority areas recording the highest levels of standardised homelessness in England were located in either London (9) or urban areas (10), with only the mixed rural area of Redcar and Cleveland featuring in this list (Table 5.2). Nevertheless, 14 rural authority areas (equivalent to 17.5% of all rural areas) did record levels of standardised homelessness above the national mean (Table 5.2). The geographical distribution of homelessness in rural areas is provided in Figure 5.1. This map highlights important regional variations in levels of homelessness in rural England, with highest homelessness rates evident in parts of the South-West, East Anglia and the East Midlands, and lowest levels presentin northern regions. However, alongside these regional differences inhomelessness, it should be stressed that considerable localised variationsare evident. For example, both the North-East and South-West regionsare characterised by local authority areas with lowest levels of homelessness (less than 2 per 1,000 households) sitting alongside areas with highest homelessness rates (of more than 5 per 1,000).