I was quite excited when the clerk dropped by the house to tell me there was an emergency meeting tonight.

Had another councillor resigned? (The last one went with a very stroppy letter which said that, apart from a few exceptions, we were all “bovine”. We’re not sure who were cows and who not.)

Actually the meeting it is to formally approve a section 106 agreement with the district council for our plans to convert part of our parish rooms into flats.

We had the chance to buy a former school building from the church for a knock-down price and develop it for community use. The building is home to the popular play group, us and several community organisations. But it is in a dreadful state.

Our previous chairman pioneered a scheme to convert the top bit into social housing for single people. Priority will be given to villagers. The rent will pay for the building’s upkeep. Downstairs will be revamped to give a much better venue for the tenant organisations.

It's a grand plan but at £600,000 an expensive one.

The problem is no-one else is providing similar facilities. The last housing association new build we got was a bunch of family homes. No good for our young people. Private developers are only thinking about maximising their yield per plot.

However this week’s report from Matthew Taylor MP has once again put rural housing on the agenda and I think people are coming up with ideas.

Recently we had a presentation from architects interested in developing the old aircraft hangers on the neighbouring MoD base. They’re looking at the possibility of live/work units. It’s an imaginative scheme which is gaining popularity elsewhere.

Our refurbished building will be fantastic — but while parish councils can be lots of things should they also be landlords? In this case I think it’s worth trying.