Issue - meetings

Report number PLA488 by the Head of Planning & Economic Regeneration. (attached)

DECISION:  To adopt the following procedure for negotiating the delivery of affordable housing through the planning system:

(1)    The provision of affordable housing should be made in accordance with the requirements of Policy H9 of the South Kesteven Local Plan (Adopted April 1995) on all housing developments which meet the thresholds set out in Circular 6/98 Affordable Housing and the updated housing needs survey (2002);

(2)    Provision should be made in accordance with the conclusions of the Housing Need Survey (2002) produced by Fordhams.  This document will be used as evidence to support the Council’s negotiations with applicants and in drawing up any necessary conditions or S106 obligations.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision:

(1)     Report number PLA488 by the Head of Planning Policy & Economic Regeneration which gives consideration to the most appropriate ways of achieving the provision of affordable housing through the planning system over the next two years before the adoption of new planning policies included within the new Local Development Framework;

(2)     Recommendations about the provision of affordable housing from the recent inspection of the Council’s Housing Service;

(3)     The affordable housing policies (H8 and H9) of the South Kesteven Local Plan adopted 1998 – will be the saved policy base for delivering affordable housing through planning over the next 3 years.  Ideally, these policies would be expanded through Supplementary Planning Guidance.  However the changes to the new planning system means that this is not possible at this moment in time.  The timetable for the preparation of the Local Development Framework together with the availability in the latter part of this year of a new housing need survey, means that the most resource effective approach at this moment is to endorse the current housing need survey as the evidence base for negotiating affordable housing provision on development sites through policy H9 of the adopted Local Plan;

(4)     The Cabinet is asked to endorse this formal position statement in order to provide officers with a more structured approach to negotiations with developers for the provision of affordable housing.