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Policy H27

Affordable Housing on Allocated and Windfall Housing Sites

The Borough Council will negotiate for the provision of an element of affordable housing within suitable allocated and windfall housing sites of 25 dwellings or more (or sites of 1 hectare or more irrespective of the number of dwellings)

1.  The amount and type of affordable housing provided will be determined by evidence of need from the 1998 Housing Needs Survey, as amended from time to time.

2.  In selecting sites, the Council will have regard to

i. the proximity of the site to local services and facilities and access to public transport;

ii. the costs associated with developing the site and whether the provision of affordable housing would prejudice the realisation of other planning objectives.

3.  On sites where affordable housing is to be managed or owned by Registered Social Landlords, the Council may impose conditions on the permission, or ask the developer to execute planning obligations, which provide that:

i. a proportion of the general market housing on the site cannot be occupied until the agreed affordable housing element has been built and transferred to a social landlord;
and/or

ii. the affordable housing shall only be used for the purposes of providing housing accommodation to meet the objectives of a Registered Social Landlord;

4.  If the necessary funds prove to be unavailable to social housing providers during the development project, then developers may either :

a. provide low-cost market housing as an alternative, where this would satisfactorily address the perceived need for affordable housing within the settlement,
or

b. transfer land within the site to a Registered Social Landlord to provide affordable housing at a future date
or

c. make an appropriate financial or other contribution towards the provision of affordable housing on a different site within the Borough.

5.  In cases involving the provision of low-cost market housing without the involvement of a Registered Social Landlord, the Council may impose conditions on the permission, or ask the developer to execute planning obligations, which provide that :

i. a proportion of the market housing on the site cannot be occupied until the low-cost market housing has been built and allocated in accordance with criterion ii) below;

ii. The properties are offered for sale (both initially and at subsequent change of occupier) first to those eligible households identified from time to time in the housing needs survey for the settlement concerned, then to other qualifying households within other settlements in the Borough, and then to other local residents, people employed (or with the offer of employment) locally or people with long-standing links with the area.

6.  Having regard to the 1998 Housing Needs Survey as amended from time to time, the Council may seek planning obligations or impose conditions which require a mixed development including family homes and/or homes for smaller households that would contribute to the identified need for affordable housing.

DEFINITION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

3.197 - For the purpose of this Policy, 'affordable housing' means:-

"Either low cost market or subsidised housing (irrespective of tenure ownership - whether exclusive or shared, or financial arrangements) that will be available to people who cannot afford to occupy houses generally available on the open market."

3.198 - This will be expressed in terms of house prices and rental levels deemed to be affordable locally from time to time, by reference to evidence from the 1998 Housing Needs Survey (as amended from time to time) of local incomes and market conditions.

NEGOTIATION FOR AN ELEMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

3.199 - The likely supply of affordable housing via the planning process in the Borough is likely to fall well short of identified housing needs.  This means that the Council will need to maximise the potential via the planning process.

3.200 - Therefore, the Council will apply the policy to both allocated housing sites and to other qualifying 'windfall' sites which come forward unexpectedly during the Plan period.  The latter will include proposals for the development of vacant and derelict land within the larger settlements and the conversion of buildings in other uses to provide dwellings.  This is also consistent with the sustainable development strategy in the Local Plan.

OVERALL TARGET FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROVISION

3.201 - The 1998 Housing Needs Survey indicates that of those households now living in unsuitable accommodation and seeking to move, an estimated 414 households are unable to gain access to the housing market.  This figure excludes those households who are currently on the Council's waiting list.

3.202 - The Council has therefore adopted a Borough-wide target of 414 new affordable dwellings during the Plan period.

THE PREFERRED APPROACH

3.203 - The average minimum new house prices at the time of the 1998 Housing Needs Survey are not affordable to those households in need.  The Council's preferred approach will therefore be to seek the provision of affordable rented properties, preferably owned or managed by Registered Social Landlords.

SITE SIZE THRESHOLD TO BE APPLIED

3.204 - The Borough Council will negotiate for a proportion of affordable housing on those sites which fall within the thresholds set out in this policy, which have been established on the basis of the 1998 Housing Needs Survey as amended from time to time and in accordance with the latest Government advice on affordable housing (Circular 06/98).

3.205 - An assessment has been made of the likely supply of affordable housing which could be secured if the thresholds referred to in the Circular were applied to both allocated and 'windfall' sites.  The results of this are that the potential supply is significantly below the target figure of 414 established by the survey. 

3.206 - In view of the limited supply of affordable housing likely to come forward via the planning process, and the significant levels of needs within the Borough demonstrated by the 1998 Housing Needs Survey as amended from time to time, the Council has applied a site size threshold of 25 dwellings (or sites of 1.0 hectare) as suggested in Circular 06/98.  This threshold applies to both allocated sites and 'windfall' sites.

3.207 - Where an application is submitted for a site which falls below the threshold limit in the policy, but is clearly part of a larger housing development which is within the threshold limit, the policy will apply.   It should also be made clear that this policy does not in any way seek to prevent the development of affordable housing on smaller sites below the policy threshold if the developer so desires.

PROPORTION OF AFFORBALE HOUSING SOUGHT & TARGETS FOR SPECIFIC SITES

3.208 - The Council will normally apply a figure of 25% of site capacity, which is considered realistic and acceptable.

3.209 - However, in some cases justified by evidence of need, the proportion of affordable housing sought may be significantly more than this figure.  In particular, qualifying 'windfall' sites within existing settlements well served by services, facilities and public transport may well be suitable for higher density development, perhaps exclusively for affordable dwellings. 

3.210 - In view of the significant proportion of need identified by the survey, this approach will be applied in relation to windfall sites in Oswestry Town.  Furthermore, in view of the level of need identified by the survey in Oswestry Rural Parish, the proportion of affordable housing sought on all qualifying sites in Morda Village, and on qualifying windfall sites in other significant settlements in the Parish, may be above the figure of 25%.

3.211 - In some settlements, where the level of need identified suggests a figure lower than 25%, the Council may accept a smaller number of affordable housing units designed to meet specific needs in the area, such as for affordable larger family dwellings, or affordable homes designed to meet the 'special' needs of the elderly or people with disabilities.

THE TYPE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIRED

3.212 - Evidence from the 1998 Housing Needs Survey is that subsidised rented housing is the most appropriate form of affordable housing, and that 1 and 2 bedroom flats and 2 and 3 bedroom houses are generally required.  Where low-cost market housing for sale is considered an acceptable means of providing affordable housing, proposals will need to reflect the particular problems identified in the 1998 Survey in terms of the local relationship between incomes and house prices.

3.213 - Affordable housing may not necessarily always comprise small dwellings at high density.  The Council will also consider the provision of a mix of affordable housing on qualifying sites, which is aimed at meeting the full range of housing needs, including larger family homes.

OCCUPANCY CONDITIONS/AGREEMENTS

3.214 - The Borough Council would prefer that affordable housing provided under this policy is owned or managed by a Registered Social Landlord, and in such cases this will be sufficient to secure the benefits of affordability in the longer term.

3.215 - However, in other cases where it is considered appropriate in the local circumstances prevailing at the time to provide smaller open market dwellings, the Council will impose conditions restricting the permitted development rights to extend the dwellings above their original floor area.  The Council may also apply conditions or seek legal agreements which seek to ensure that the affordable dwellings provided remain available in the long term to people in housing need.  In order to ensure the long term viability of such developments, a 'cascade' approach will be adopted which will require that properties are first offered to households in need within the particular settlement; then to people in need from elsewhere in the Borough; then to other local residents, people employed locally or people with local connections; Finally, in the absence of any qualifying household from these categories, the properties could be sold in the normal manner.

CASES WHERE THE PROPORTION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING MAY BE REDUCED OR WAIVED

3.216 - The Council will exercise its discretion as to whether affordable housing will be sought on qualifying windfall sites where it can be demonstrated that the costs of development are unusually high, or where there are other significant planning gains arising from the development which might be prejudiced by the need to provide affordable housing.

3.217 - Such cases may include sites which are the subject of abnormal costs in providing major new infrastructure, in dealing with abnormal ground conditions or dealing with significant levels of contamination.  They may also include developments which secure significant environmental improvements; sites involving considerable expense in allowing for the protection of important archaeological remains; where the proposal involves significant restoration costs in relation to historic buildings; or where developments are on important sites within Conservation Areas which require particularly high standards of design and materials of construction. In such cases, the Council may decide that the level of provision of affordable housing sought will be reduced or waived altogether.

3.218 - These considerations will not normally apply to qualifying allocated sites, which the Council considers are capable of development without abnormal costs.

ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS

3.219 - As an alternative to provision on a specific qualifying site, a developers could agree to make an appropriate financial or other contribution towards the provision of affordable housing by a Registered Social Landlord on a different site in the Borough.  Any such contribution would be payable on commencement of works to provide the affordable housing.

3.220 - Alternatively, the developer could set aside land within a qualifying site for transfer to a Registered Social Landlord to construct affordable housing once funds are available.  Any such arrangements would be subject to reasonable and realistic time limits agreed by both parties, in order to avoid a fragmented form of development.

3.221 - There may also be cases where a need for affordable housing has been established in an area, but where the inclusion of such housing within a particular qualifying site is not appropriate in planning terms.  This could be the case in respect of sites within established low-density housing areas, where the density of development makes up a significant element of the character of the area as a whole, and where the introduction of higher density dwellings would disrupt this character.  In such cases it may be that there is an established need for larger affordable homes suitable for families which would fit in with the character of the area. Alternatively, contributions could be sought for provision elsewhere.

Back To Section 6: Affordable Housing Policies
Back To Local Plan 1996-2006
On To Section 7: Residential Caravans And Mobile Homes