The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to launch a feasibility study evaluating a funding increase for affordable rural housing in England.

Led by the Housing Corporation and funded by Defra, the research will weigh up the pros and cons of a new time-limited funding programme to aid local organisations in the provision of more affordable homes in the countryside.

Barry Gardiner, the minister for rural affairs, announced the latest study at a conference entitled Affordable Rural Housing Commission - One Year On, which marked the anniversary of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission’s final report.

He emphasised the need to focus on "outcomes rather than in processes" in the study and explained that the aim of the fund would be to empower rural residents.

"I have asked the Housing Corporation to look into how a new fund could improve provision of affordable housing in rural areas," he said.

"I want to know exactly how such a fund could achieve increased provision of affordable rural homes where they are needed, promote best practice and overcome local barriers."

Should the report conclude that a new rural programme is necessary, then specific funding will be subject to the Comprehensive Spending Review, due out later in 2007.

Earlier this year, the Housing Corporation established the Rural Housing Advisory Group, which is responsible for exploring innovative means of increasing affordable housing supply in rural areas, based on recommendations from the Affordable Rural Housing Commission.