AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

• Ian Smith
• Housing Development Officer
• Housing and Benefits
• Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

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Affordable Housing Development

• Housing is consulted by Planning Services in
  terms of the affordable housing provision
• It does not currently negotiate or offer advice
  on the private market housing mix
• Consultation normally occurs at three stages

• Pre application enquiries
• Planning Application consultation
• Section 106 scoping

• Affordable Housing Progress Group (AHPG)

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Affordable Housing Development

• There are situations when Housing Services will
  be involved in advising on the full housing mix
  for a particular development. These are

• Rural Exception Schemes
• Housing Association - preferred partner schemes
• Supported or Special needs housing provision

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Background

• The Housing Needs Register provides a profile of
  local housing needs but not market demands for
  private housing provision.
• Need to integrate the affordable housing
  requirement into the scheme that is being
  proposed
• It has to work for the layout, design and
  delivery of the proposed scheme

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Negotiating factors 1

• Affordable housing percentage - normally 40
• Tenure mix normally 25 social rented / 15
  intermediate tenures
• Try for 100 social rented for rural exception
  sites and the Housing Corporation has provided
  funding on this basis.

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Negotiating Factors 2

• Try for free serviced land for the affordable
  housing but need to watch build costs
• Housing Types Sizes local housing needs
• Distribution of the affordable housing within the
  scheme layout / community mix
• Development standards needs to be grant
  compliant (HQIs / Code for Sustainable Homes /
  Buildings for Life).

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Affordable Housing (General Priorities)

• Taking less 1 bed dwellings
• Seeking to replace 1 beds with more 2 bed / 3
  person units and with a higher proportion of 2 /
  4 person houses
• Increasing family housing provision (3 beds or
  larger and particularly for social rent)
• Seeking the provision of some 4 and 5 bed houses
  to meet particular family needs
• Seeking the provision of supported housing
  including wheelchair units as part of larger site
  developments.

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Examples 1

• Top Slicing
• Boundary Hall, Tadley (46 affordable)
• The top 100 on the list needed 14 x 3 bed houses
  and 4 x 4 bed houses we secured 8 x 3 bed and 4
  x 4 bed houses from the affordable housing
  provision.

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Example 2

• Maximising Social Rented Housing - Skippetts Lane
  (50 affordable)
• Focused on secured all the houses for social
  rent leaving the apartments as shared ownership
  provision.

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Example 3

• Supported Housing -
• Sherfield Park (Taylors Farm) 12 x mobility
  bungalows / 6 wheelchair units / and 9 supported
  apartments
• Merton Rise Phase 3A - 11 supported apartments
  and 4 x wheelchair units.

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Examples 4

• Tenure Mix - Marnel Park Phase 3A/4 Negotiated
  with DWH / Sentinel for 60 rented / 40 shared
  ownership with grant moving away from the one
  third rented / two thirds shared ownership in the
  section 106 agreement.
• Rural Exceptions at Hollybush Farm - Headley /
  Charter Alley (joint parish provision) based on
  local housing needs taken from both the Housing
  Register and the Rural Housing Enablers survey
  forms use at the public consultation event

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Examples 5

• Churchill Way West example of matching private
  and affordable housing mixes each with 66 flats
  and 34 houses.

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Affordable Housing provision 2007 -
2008

• 1418 completions / 447 net affordable
• Housing Strategy target 300 per annum.
• Without including the major flats scheme of North
  Houndmills (100 affordable units) the remaining
  balance is 52 flats and 48 houses.
• Of the 167 houses / 78 are social rented
• 1 bed - 19
• 2 beds - 59 (26 2 bed houses)
• 3 / 4 beds 22

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Funding

• Schemes need full planning permission a
  development agreement in place to secure funding
  from the Housing Corporation
• Regular Market Engagement (RME) bids to the
  Housing Corporation
• Bids assessed on value for money / quality /
  delivery (timeliness) using a grant rate
  comparator
• LA consulted on bids but not supplied with the
  full financial breakdown. Housing Corporation
  look for fit with local housing strategy targets
  / planning status / and local delivery factors.

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Table 1
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Future Delivery Programme 1

• The impact of current housing market conditions
  on affordable (needs) housing provision includes
  
• Programme / delivery slippage from section 106
  sites (-)
• Being offered extra affordable housing over and
  above the section 106 requirement ()

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Future Delivery Programme 2

• Housing Associations acquiring development
  sites()
• Housing Associations / Developers seeking to
  re-site and amend the agreed affordable housing
  mix to ensure delivery ()
• Joint venture bids ()

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Future Delivery Programme 3

• Some 960 funded units still to be completed with
  230 units (24) under the direct control of the
  housing associations
• Estimate that at least 350 units are at some risk
  from programme slippage

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Future Funding Deliver Programme 4

• Other major sites where planning applications
  have been submitted circa 300 units
• Could dip below the 300 Target figure from 2010/11

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What of the Future ?

• The key issue over the next 4 / 5 years will be
  how to maintain and secure sufficient delivery of
  new build affordable housing
• The LDF will set the framework for future housing
  development and the relationship with local
  housing needs and market demands for housing.
• If the new Planning process is expected to expand
  the role of Housing Services into general housing
  development decisions then this will need to be
  explored.

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Table 1
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Table 2
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Table 3