According to new research by the NHF, if each of the 9,600 rural Anglican churches sold or leased land, or church buildings, it could supply a tenth of the needed 100,000 affordable rural homes.

The NHF believes that with the Church of England owning an average of eight acres of land per Anglican village church, in addition to parsonages and church halls, every rural place of worship could deliver an average of one new affordable home.
 
Other denominations such as the Methodists, Baptists and other free church denominations also have rural churches that could be used for affordable housing.
 
The NHF says that with a number of rural churches at risk of closure, because of low attendances, the selling of land, for new homes, could help many safeguard their future – with the money raised being used to pay for desperately needed repairs or the construction of new places of worship.
 
NHF chief executive David Orr said: "The village church is often at the heart of our rural communities but many are now at risk of closure because of falling numbers.

"By making land available for housing, rural churches would increase their chances of survival and also help meet local housing need.
 
"If rural parishes could deliver an average of one affordable home per church they would go a long way to helping us end the rural housing crisis."