Exmoor Housing Survey

Overview

Somerset Council, in partnership with Exmoor National Park Authority and North Devon Council, is conducting a survey to understand local housing needs across Exmoor. Your input will help shape future housing provision in the area.

Why Your Feedback Matters:
Housing need can arise for various reasons, including:

• Lack of affordable accommodation locally
• Current home no longer meets household needs
• Property in disrepair
• Financial pressures requiring relocation
• Desire to own a home (including self/custom build options)

Even if you do not consider yourself in housing need, your response is vital to inform planning and decision-making.

How to complete the Housing Needs Survey questionnaire:

The online questionnaire is simple and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. It is in two parts:

Part 1: for everyone to complete regardless of your housing need status or current accommodation.

Part 2: you should only complete this if you hope to move home in the next five years and would like to live or continue living in Exmoor National Park. This part of the survey is to identify those who may be eligible for affordable housing in the National Park, but also gathers information on those who could afford to buy or rent their home on the open market.

Who Should Participate:

• Current residents
• Those who have moved away but wish to return
• People working locally but living outside Exmoor
• Anyone wishing to set up their own home, including young people approaching adulthood, are encouraged to complete their own survey 

The survey is open on the 1^st February 2026. Please ensure you submit your questionnaire by 31^st March 2026. 

The link for the survey can be found at the bottom of this page. 

Privacy Notice – Housing Needs Survey

Somerset Council is committed to protecting your personal information and complying with data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. This notice explains how we will use the information you provide when completing the Housing Needs Survey.

Who is responsible for your data?

Somerset Council is the data controller for this survey. This means we decide why and how your personal data is processed. Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA) and North Devon Council may assist with certain tasks, but they will only receive anonymised summaries and reports and will not have access to your individual responses.

Why are we collecting this information?

The purpose of the survey is to gather evidence about housing needs within Exmoor National Park. This information will help Somerset Council and its partners plan for affordable housing and inform the Exmoor National Park Local Plan. Your responses will not be used for any other purpose.

What information will we collect?

We will collect the answers you provide in the survey, which may include personal details such as your housing circumstances and future needs. We will not collect more information than is necessary for this purpose.

How will your data be used and shared?

• Somerset Council will analyse the responses and prepare anonymised reports.
• ENPA and North Devon Council will only receive these anonymised summaries; they will not see any personal data.
• Your data will never be sold or shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

How long will we keep your data?

Personal data will be retained only for as long as necessary to complete the analysis and support the Local Plan evidence base. This will not exceed 18 months from the date of collection. After this period, all personal data will be securely deleted.

Your rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

• Access to the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Object to processing in certain circumstances.
• Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you are unhappy with how your data is handled.

Lawful basis for processing

We process your data under the lawful basis of public task, as set out in Article 6(1)(e) of GDPR and Section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2018. This means the processing is necessary for us to carry out our official functions.

Contact details

If you have any questions about this notice or your rights, please contact Somerset Council’s Data Protection Officer at:

Email: informationgovernance@somerset.gov.uk

Telephone: 0300 123 2224

Full GDPR information is available here - Information Governance .

Important: Completing this survey does not place you on a housing waiting list or guarantee housing.

Thank you for your help in gathering this important information.