2,000 new affordable homes target for local development plan

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

A planning policy which aims to ensure nearly 2,000 new affordable homes are built over the next nine years has taken a step forward.

The affordable housing supplementary planning guidance, as it’s known, will be incorporated into a new planning blueprint for Carmarthenshire following a public consultation. The planning blueprint, known as a local development plan (LDP), is expected to come into force later this year and will run until 2033.

Demand for affordable as well as open-market homes is high in Carmarthenshire, like in most of Wales’s 22 council areas. The council has a target of 1,936 affordable homes up to 2033 in its revised LDP.

Affordable housing contribution

Under the plan, developers building 10 to 19 homes on a site would need to provide a 10% affordable housing contribution. This rises to 12% for sites of 20 to 50 homes, 20% for sites of 51 to 100 homes, and 25% for sites of 101-plus homes. A financial contribution for affordable housing would be required for developments of one to nine homes.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on February 10, Cllr Carys Jones, whose portfolio includes planning, said the draft supplementary guidance sought to “maximise the potential” for increasing the supply of affordable housing.

Cabinet endorsed the draft guidance which will go out for public consultation subject to approval by full council. Cllr Linda Evans, cabinet member for homes, urged people to have their say. Referring to affordable housing she said: “We all know the need that is out there.”

Negotiations

The draft guidance said affordable housing target percentages for new sites were the starting point for negotiations between developers and the council unless there were exceptional circumstances, such as “insurmountable” development viability issues.

Affordable housing comprises low-cost rental and low-cost ownership properties. Councils and housing associations build affordable homes as well as developers. The draft guidance said developers could expect a profit margin of around 6% for affordable homes compared to 15-20% for open-market properties.

Developers can seek to reduce their affordable housing requirement but must justify it. The guidance said they should be prepared to be flexible on their margins “and should not expect to protect a 20% profit margin at the expense of affordable housing or planning obligations”.

Cabinet also approved draft supplementary planning guidance for developer planning obligations. These obligations, said the guidance, aimed to help mitigate “the impact of unacceptable development to make it acceptable in planning terms” and included things like financial contributions for nearby schools, roads and transport projects, and providing public open spaces. The draft guidance for planning obligations will also go out for consultation subject to full council approval.