Spaxton Housing Need Assessment

Spaxton Parish Housing Need Assessment

NOVEMBER 2017

Spaxton Parish Housing Need Assessment November 2017

Draft Report NOVEMBER 2017

Final Report NOVEMBER 2017

Contacts Duncan Harvey Direct: 01278 436440 Email: duncan.harvey@sedgemoor.gov.uk Esther Carter Direct: 01278 435599 Email: [email protected]

Organisation Sedgemoor District Council

Address Affordable Housing Development Unit, Housing, Health & Wellbeing, Bridgwater House, King Square, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 3AR Telephone 0300 303 7800

Email [email protected]

REPORT STRUCTURE PAGE

PART 1 - CONTEXT & METHODOLOGY  Context 3  Methodology 3/4  Spaxton Housing Picture 4/5  Local Income Levels & Affordability 5/6

PART 2 – HOUSING NEED SURVEY ANALYSIS  Current Housing Circumstances 7  Future Housing Requirements & Financial Information 7/8

PART 3 – SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION  Pre-Existing Evidence from Homefinder Somerset (Housing Register) 9  Housing Need Survey Analysis 9  Combined Affordable Housing Requirement 9  Detailed Information from Survey 10

PART 3 – AFFORDABLE HOUSING INFORMATION  Affordable Housing Information 10/11  Housing Tenure Types 11/12  Addressing Future Affordable Housing Need in Spaxton 12/13  Further Information 14

Part 1 – Context & Methodology

CONTEXT

The Housing Need Assessment (“HNA”) seeks to investigate the parish’s opinion of future housing development and housing need for the village of Spaxton.

Sedgemoor District Council Affordable Housing Development Team (AFHDT) has a programme to carry out Housing Need Assessments (HNA) in Parishes that fall into the new Tier 3 and Tier 4 categories in the proposed draft Local Plan. Parishes that fall into the new Tier 3 and Tier 4 will be part of the 2016/18 programme. The HNA will provide essential information to ascertain what, if any, housing need exists in these parishes.

The SDC Affordable Housing Development Team (“AFHDT”) is a small-dedicated team with the specific responsibility to oversee the delivery of new affordable housing. The team are part of the wider SDC Housing, Health and Wellbeing Service. Building on successful records of accomplishment of delivering affordable homes in rural communities, the AFDHT provides support and advice to parish councils, landowners, developers and registered providers with the aim of developing new affordable housing. The AFHDT has developed its own housing need assessment process, which provide publically available independent and robust evidence for future housing growth in rural communities.

The Community Council for Somerset Rural Housing Enablers carried out a HNA for Spaxton in September 2009. This HNA and the subsequent community drop in sessions provided the information to support the successful development of the six affordable homes by South Western Housing Society on their High Street development.

The Council’s Housing Affordable Housing Development Team (“AFHDT”) attended the Spaxton Parish Council in June 2017, to provide a question and answer session on affordable housing. The members of Spaxton Parish Council asked Sedgemoor District Council to undertake a new HNA in the parish.

The conclusions of this exercise will be formally presented to Spaxton Parish Council in late 2017 and subsequently will be made public on the Sedgemoor District Council website.

Housing need is this context is defined as follows:

. For the purposes of this document “‘housing need” can be defined as the need for an individual or household to obtain housing which is suitable to their circumstances; . It implies that there are problems or limitations with the household’s current housing arrangements and that the household is unable to afford or to access suitable accommodation in the private sector; . Such problems may be due to housing costs, size, location, layout, state of repair or security of tenure; . This need may be immediate or anticipated in the near future.

Historically, the majority of responses in any survey of this kind come from:

. People who feel themselves to be in need of housing now or in the near future; . Their relatives; . People involved in some way in community affairs who probably have an appreciation of the problems affecting the community as a whole, even if they are not in housing need; . People who feel strongly that there should be no more development in the village.

METHODOLOGY – ASSESSMENT APPROACH

Spaxton Parish Council working with SDC have modified the standard HNA form to incorporate questions to inform their Parish Plan. The HNA was split into two sections the Section 1, to determine opinions on future housing development in Spaxton. Section 2 is to determine what if any housing need exists in Spaxton.

A covering letter was enclosed with the four-page HNA survey. There was also a pre-paid envelope enclosed to return completed forms. 3

The HNA is divided into the following sections:

Section 1: Understanding your household and your opinions on future housing development Q 1 – 5: Understanding your household and your current housing circumstances Q 6 – 11: Your thoughts on future housing development in Spaxton Section 2: Understanding your household’s future housing needs

There were four hundred and sixty-two (462) surveys sent. To date one hundred and fifty-seven (157) replies have been returned, of those returned six (6) completed Section 2 of the survey confirming they have some sort of housing need. A further five respondents are in private rented accommodation but did not fill out Section 2 of the survey. Seven (7) respondents are in Council accommodation; of which five (5) are currently, under-occupying and two (2) are adequately housed. One (1) of the replies state they have four children that have moved out of Spaxton because there are no suitable affordable homes to rent or buy and would like to move back. A further one (1) respondent is in a home, which is tied to employment but did not fill out Section 2 of the survey form, we would however usually investigate this person further as usually it transpires they would have some sort of housing need.

A HNA was also sent to an additional eleven (11) households registered for affordable housing (in Spaxton) on Homefinder Somerset CBL system (formerly known as the housing waiting list) who requested Spaxton as their preferred place to live. We are unable to determine how many Homefinder Somerset applicants have completed the survey form due to the limited information returned on the HNA forms.

The personal data provided from survey responses have been incorporated to assess each respondent’s personal need/requirement.

Experience shows that local people are often apathetic to register for affordable housing and fill out a survey form prior to any housing development project. This is mainly because they feel that there is no prospect of an affordable home in the locality. The numbers on the housing register spike at key stages of new affordable housing build projects. The most notable of these triggers tend to be firstly when planning permission is secured, secondly when construction activity can be seen on site and thirdly, when the new homes are nearing completion.

When assessing a respondent’s suitability to home ownership or private renting on the open market the following criteria is used.

Home Ownership - purchase price based on multiplier of 3.5 time’s gross annual income plus available deposit (minimum of 15% of purchase price).

Private rented – private renting affordability is calculated by multiplying monthly rent x 30, the total should be approximately the annual salary. This only looks at rent it doesn’t include any bills.

Respondents who are unable access the open market (buy or rent) are assessed against eligibility for affordable rented or intermediate home ownership product. The respondent’s income, savings and size of family are key factors for assessing their need for affordable housing.

The assessment of affordability looks at household incomes and savings, which are then measured against property prices, which suit the size and type, whether rented, or home ownership. Depending on tenure, additional factors are checked that will affect the cost of acquiring the property For home ownership, these costs include mortgage interest rates, mortgage indemnity premium. Mortgage application fee, legal fees, stamp duty tax, legal fees and search fees etc.

For rent, these costs may include: rent deposit and rent paid in advance.

SPAXTON HOUSING PICTURE

Data from the Office for National Statistics 2011 have been accessed down to ward and parish level via and other web based data sources for information.

Spaxton is a small village on the Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset. 4

Spaxton (the village) is considered a rural settlement. In the affordable housing arena, settlements with a population of less than 3000 are classed as villages. In Planning terms, Spaxton is viewed as one of Sedgemoor’s Other Sustainable Settlements under the current Local Plan.

As at 2011, there were 425 households and a population of 1,012 in Spaxton (Office of National Statistics, Census 2011)

Owner Occupation is the dominant tenure across the parish accounting for 78% of all homes (331 households). This is higher than the Sedgemoor district average of 71.3% (Office of National Statistics, Census 2011)

Private Rented accounts for 12% Spaxton has a small private rented housing supply, which is below the Sedgemoor district average of 14.5% (Office of National Statistics, Census 2011)

Affordable Housing accounted for just 8% of the total housing stock, there are just 35 homes. 32 of these homes are rented, with 3 being affordable home ownership from either the Council or a housing association. The impact of the Right-to-Buy has seen the numbers of affordable homes drop since the early 1980’s (Office of National Statistics, Census 2011) None of the existing affordable homes carry a local allocation plan offering local people priority for vacancies.

When considering the provision of future affordable housing for Spaxton, consideration has been given to parcels of land where TCPA planning approval for housing has been granted. There are a currently no TCPA approved residential planning permissions which will increase the supply of affordable housing in Spaxton.

LOCAL INCOME LEVELS AND AFFORDABILITY

Buying on the Open Market Across Sedgemoor, it is noticeable that a growing number of adult children are unable to get on the housing ladder and continue to live with parents or relatives. Many wishing to remain in rural communities, are priced out of the market or forced to leave the village due to a lack of “price” or “cost” of housing, a situation heightened by an influx of wealthy commuters, second home buyers, holiday lets and retirees moving to the area. Rural house prices tend to be well above the average, while local rural incomes are below. This affordability gap continues to grow and adds to the increasing loss of younger adults and families who often support and contribute to local rural communities; shops, schools and transport services can be affected as young people and families are forced to look for more affordable places to live.

SDC reviewed and investigated sales of homes over a two year period in Spaxton from the property website Rightmove (November 2017). Spaxton, with an overall average price of £329,575 was more expensive than nearby Stolford, Perry Green and Radlet. There were only 6 properties sold in the last year, therefore, the average prices may only reflect the mix of properties sold, rather than the changes in the local market itself.

By using “real house price data”, and taking a conservative view on the current average price of houses in the parish, the price at which someone can buy a property (entry level at which it would be feasible to get onto the housing ladder) has been taken to be circa £163,725 for a 2-bed property & circa £262,500 for a 3-bed property. These are average figures and are only a guideline.

A comparison of house prices with neighbouring and broader market areas suggests Spaxton is a relatively expensive village. Prices are higher than the average in the SDC area. Data tends to be less robust for smaller areas as it contains fewer records. This particularly applies to one bedroom properties in rural areas.

The table below illustrates prices which are considered to be average for properties offered for sale in Spaxton. There are some assumptions about deposits and mortgages to enable the calculation of salaries to meet the mortgage requirement.

Annual income requirements for open market properties

Deposit (assume Annual income required House Price Mortgage required 15% required) (based on 3.5 x income) £150,000 £22,500 £127,500 £36,429 £170,000 £25,500 £144,500 £41,285 £200,000 £30,000 £170,000 £48,572

A household’s ability to buy is also dependent on them having saved an appropriate deposit. The calculation presented in Table 1 assumes a mortgage to house value of 85%, i.e. the purchaser has saved a 15% deposit. It may be possible to secure a mortgage with a lower % deposit but this will require even higher income levels. Under new mortgage rules, which came into effect in April 2014, lends must now obey strict guidelines to check whether a borrower can afford their mortgage repayments, not just at current interest rates, but also if interest rates shot up to 6 – 7 %.

Each household has its own set of circumstances; therefore our assumption and should be used as a guide only.

Shared Ownership Deposit, mortgage, rent & income for a shared ownership based on purchasing a 40% share. There are some assumptions about deposits and mortgages to enable the calculation of salaries to meet the mortgage requirement.

To qualify for shared ownership household income should be below £80,000 per year. Shared Ownership (also known as “help-to-buy”) offers the opportunity to ‘part buy’ and ‘part rent’. A percentage (%) ownership share in a property is offered, typically between 25% and 75% and a subsidised rent is collected on the remaining percentage (%) share. There is the opportunity to buy further percentage (%) shares in the property, usually up to an 80%. This is known as ‘staircasing’.

Property Deposit Mortgage required Mortgage cost per Rental on remaining Annual income value (assume 10% (remaining equity in calendar month approx. equity per calendar required based of 40% brackets) (assuming rate of 5% for month on 3.5 x share) 25yrs) income £120,000 £4,800 £43,200 £253.00 £165.00 £12,343 (£72,000) £160,000 £6,400 £57,600 £337.00 £220.00 £16,457 (£96,000) £200,000 £8,000 £72,000 £421.00 £275.00 £20,571 (£120,000)

Market Rent, Affordable Rent, Social Rent & Local Housing Allowance (per week) This table compares the cost of Market Rent, Affordable Rent, Social Rent & Local Housing Allowance.

Number of Typical Market Rent Affordable Rent Social Rent Local Housing Allowance Bedrooms (approx.) (approx.) (approx.) (April 2016 – March 2017) 1 £110.00 £88.00 £71.50 £97.81 2 £146.00 £116.80 £94.90 £122.36 3 £162.00 £129.60 £105.30 £150.00

Part 2 – HOUSING NEED SURVEY ANALYSIS

The HNA analysis used primary data from the HNA, as well as secondary data from local house prices and income data (web based), Office for National Statistics (2011) and Homefinder Somerset (Housing Register) have informed this report. The results of the survey will alter with increasing/decreasing values of housing, lenders policies, economic climate and demographic changes in the community as individual’s situations change. As far as has been practical, the assessment evaluated fact and was specifically designed to avoid it being a local opinion-poll on housing.

This assessment and recommendations contained within this report deal with need rather than desired or perceived future housing requirements in Spaxton. This report includes a clear statement “recommendations” on the unmet housing need in Spaxton.

Further analysis has been carried out to understand the gender, age and current family housing circumstances of those who might potentially live in any affordable housing development built. When looking at household composition we have taken into account the age and gender of the children that would be living as one household, single person households, the age of couples assuming they may have a family etc. The results look at both the unsuitability of the accommodation and the household make up, the combined evidence gives us an insight into what the family age and make up would be.

CURRENT HOUSING CIRCUMSTANCES

All of the six (6) respondents had a strong connection with Spaxton and are considered to be in housing need, requiring help to access an affordable home in the village.

In Housing Need – Moving Timescale Number of Respondents Need to move within 12 months 1

Need to move in the next 2 years 1 Need to move in the next 2 – 5 years 4

LOCAL CONNECTION

In Housing Need – Local Connection Number of Respondents

Live 5 + years in the Parish 5

Live up to 5 years 1

UNSUITABILITY OF CURRENT HOME

In Housing Need – Reason for Move Number of Respondents

Insecure Tenancy 2

Need Independence 2 Need a smaller home 1

Home is unaffordable 1

FUTURE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS & FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Respondents were asked to indicate the preference of tenure, type of accommodation and number of bedrooms they would prefer and provided financial information for us to determine affordability potential. When looking at the type of affordable housing, which fits each respondent requirements, the information provided is based on actual need rather than the respondent’s aspirations. If finances are assessed to be insufficient to purchase on the open market or to buy a percentage of a shared ownership property, rented tenure has been recommended. Further information provides us with what is stopping the respondent either buying or renting on the open market. The findings from the survey showed that four (4)

respondents we would recommend affordable rented tenure and two (2) respondents we would recommend some form of Home Ownership product. FURTHER RESPONDENTS THAT MAY HAVE A HOUSING NEED

A further five (5) respondents are in private rented accommodation but did not fill out Section 2 of the survey. Five (5) respondents are in Council accommodation who are currently under-occupying. One (1) of the replies state they have four children that have moved out of Spaxton because there are no suitable affordable homes to rent or buy and would like to move back. A further one (1) respondent is in tied accommodation.

Further additional housing need Maximum Bedroom Requirement 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total

Bedroom requirement for respondents 3 2 0 0 5 in rented accommodation

Bedroom requirement for respondents 4 2 0 0 6 under occupying social housing Bedroom requirement for respondent 0 1 0 0 1 with tied accommodation

TOTAL 12

Part 3 – SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION

The HNA looked at each household to determine whether they were firstly IN HOUSING NEED, secondly whether that household was capable of RESOLVING THEIR HOUSING PROBLEM in prevailing housing market and thirdly what STRENGTH OF LOCAL CONNECTION the household had with Spaxton Housing need is this context is defined as follows:

Historically, the majority of responses in any survey of this kind come from:

For the purposes of the HNA, respondent’s local connection with the parish have been determined by the following criteria:

1. Live 5 years or more in the parish 2. Live up to 5 years in the parish 3. Previously lived 5 years or more in the parish 4. Work 16 hours or more a week in the parish 5. Have immediate family* in the parish 6. Provides or received car for family* in the parish * immediate family means grandparent(s), parent(s), child(ren) or sibling(s) 8

PRE EXISTING EVIDENCE FROM HOMEFINDER SOMERSET (HOUSING REGSITER) Information from Homefinder Somerset CBL housing register (“CBL”) data is a useful additional indicator of potential affordable housing demand. Housing applicants who register via CBL are only able to select one preferred location for housing. However, all housing applicants can bid for vacant affordable homes in locations outside their preferred choice. Speculation on the numbers of CBL applications with a potential interest in an affordable home in Spaxton is likely to be greater than the figures described below.

People are often apathetic to register for affordable-housing (prior to a project) because they often feel there is no prospect of a home. On CBL the numbers of local people registering spike at key stages of a new affordable-housing project. The most notable of these triggers tend to be firstly when planning permission is secured, secondly when construction activity can be seen on site and thirdly, when the new homes are nearing completion.

The table below sets out the data from CBL (Source: Homefinder Somerset November 2017), showing current number of households and their bedroom requirement for those who have registered an interest in Spaxton on CBL. Based on experience, whilst the CBL data is a useful indicator of potential affordable housing demand, it would be inadvisable to use this information as a definitive assessment of true unmet housing need in Spaxton.

CBL Affordable Housing Demand Maximum Bedroom Requirement 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total Spaxton 1st Area Choice 6 4 5 4 19

HOUSING NEED SURVEY ANALYSIS

Affordable Housing Requirement After assessing the completed survey forms returned, we have determined there are six (6) household’s considered to be in need of some form of affordable housing in Spaxton. We have assessed the breakdown of accommodation they require in table format below.

Affordable Rented Accommodation The table below represents bedroom sizes and property type

Rented accommodation required 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total F H B F H B F H B F H B 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 (F – Flat, H – House, B – Bungalow)

Affordable Homeownership - Low Cost Home Ownership / Shared Ownership Accommodation The table below represents households that have been recommended for Low cost home ownership and shared ownership tenure from the Housing Need Survey. These are households who are deemed to be in housing need, and have income for a mortgage and savings for a deposit.

Low cost home ownership (LCHO) / Shared Ownership (SO) accommodation required 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total F H B F H B F H B F H B 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Combined Affordable Housing Conclusion

Households Requiring an Affordable Home in Spaxton 1 bed 2 bed 3 bed 4 bed Total F H B F H B F H B F H B 6 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 9

The table below gives a detailed assessment of each individual respondent who we have assessed as being in housing need from the survey. Details included are reason for needing affordable housing, local connection, desired housing, affordability potential, number in household, recommended bedroom size and tenure.

due to requirement Housing connection Local housing Desired potential(£) Affordability Tenure Affordable Recommended

Recommended

Bedroom(s)

Household

numbers

Insecure Tenancy Live 5+ years 3bb Rented £98,000 4 Rent 3bh Independence Live 5+ years 2bh LCHO £99,000 1 S/O 2bh Need a smaller home Live 5+ years 2bb RET £42,000 1 Rent (**) 1bb Insecure Tenancy Live 5+ years 2bOM £157,500 2 S/O 2bh Insecure Tenancy Live 5+ years 4bH2B £37,500 5 Rent 4bh Home unaffordable Live up to 5 years 4bh Rented £105,000 7 Rent 4bh

Rented – Recommended for rented housing only Rented (*) – Could BUY an affordable home but has no deposit or would find difficulty obtaining a mortgage Rented (**) – Unable to BUY due to age related mortgage restrictions Shared Ownership (S/O) – Recommended for affordable home ownership Open Market – OM Retirement – RET Help to Buy – H2B

This scale of affordable housing need is small but significant. On-going consultation between Sedgemoor District Council and the Parish council will help inform details of any scheme brought forward. Careful consideration should be given to the final scale and tenure mix of the scheme to ensure local occupancy is maximised.

Market Housing Provision in Spaxton

The 2017 HNA exercise has not offered any obvious insight into the future scale and nature of market housing requirements for Spaxton. Nevertheless, it would appear that Spaxton would benefit from the provision of additional smaller units for sale and rent.

PART 4 – AFFORDABLE HOUSING INFORMATION

Affordable housing allows LOCAL PEOPLE to access a suitable home, at a price they can afford, where they were born / grew-up / have support and social networks or work in

Affordable housing is best described as housing provided at prices below the prevailing market value to people who are unable to find a suitable home on the open market (primarily due to its price). Affordable housing can be provided on rental basis Affordable housing can be provided on a homeownership basis. Affordable housing can be provided by the public sector (the Council and-or housing associations) Affordable housing can be provided by the private sector (volume house builders and private landlords) Affordable housing can be provided by the community (CLT etc etc) The HNS has highlighted a number of households who fit the description of people in need of affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined within the National Planning Policy Framework (as published on 27th March 2012) as including social rented, affordable rented and intermediate housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not met by the market. Eligibility is determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices.

Affordable Rented

Social Rented housing is owned by local authorities and private registered providers (as defined in section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008), for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime. It may also be owned by other persons and provided under equivalent rental arrangements to the above, as agreed with the local authority or with the Homes and Communities Agency. Affordable Rented housing is let by local authorities or private registered providers of social housing to households who are eligible for social rented housing. Affordable Rent is subject to rent controls that require a rent of no more than 80% of the local market rent (including service charges, where applicable). In rural communities, such as Spaxton, we generally encourage a preference for social rent where possible. Social rent is considered the more affordable form of renting. However, the funding mechanism used to deliver any affordable homes will have a direct influence over whether or not social rented units can be provided.

Affordable Homeownership There are different types of affordable homeownership under the global banner of affordable housing. This is because locally different types of households have different incomes and housing needs.

Applicants Tenure Description Applying information

Homes provided by both the These homes are You need to register with Council and Housing Associations ideal if you do not Homefinder Somerset. Affordable rent and in some cases by private want or are

landlords who charge rent below unable to obtain www.homefindersomerset.co.uk that charged on the open market. a mortgage.

You need to register with Help to Homes are both new and resale These homes are Buy. properties and are provided by not limited to

the Council and the Housing new builds and http://www.helptobuy.org.uk/othe Shared Associations. You buy between are ideal if you r-housing-options/shared- Ownership 25% and 75% of your home and can find a deposit ownership pay a subsidised rent on the for the share that

remainder. You may be able to you are buying Re-sales can often be found with buy up to 100% of your home. local Estate Agents.

Homes are new build or resale These homes are Low Cost Home properties; you buy 100% of the You will need to contact the ideal if you are Ownership or property at 60% - 80% discounted developer direct - details of able to provide a Discounted from the market value. You will properties can be found on our deposit and Market Housing sell the property under the same website and re-sales can often be mortgage. basis. found with local Estate Agents.

Homes are built or These homes are You will need to sign up to the commissioned, for those who ideal if you would Self-Build, Sedgemoor Self-Build Register want to build their own home on like to have a Custom Build www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/10755 a serviced plot bespoke home

ADDRESSING FUTURE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN SPAXTON

CURRENT LOCAL PLAN

The Sedgemoor Core Strategy is the Local Plan relevant to Spaxton. Sedgemoor District Council adopted this plan in 2011. This sets out planning policy for the district over the period 2006-2027. This plan is currently being reviewed, with a new plan proposed by 2018.

Under the current Local Plan Policy S1 sets out the spatial strategy for Sedgemoor, identifying the distribution of housing across the district. The largest proportion of homes 70% (7,455) are identified to be built in Bridgwater, 15% (1,575) in Burnham on Sea and Highbridge, 12% (1,260) in Key Rural Settlements and the remainder 3% (315) in Other Sustainable Settlements. Spaxton is classed as an Other Sustainable Settlement under the current Local Plan. In terms of housing growth, the adopted local plan currently focusses on local growth that support community needs only.

Spaxton is currently designated as an Other Sustainable Settlement within the adopted Local Plan. In terms of housing growth, the adopted local plan currently focusses on local growth that supports community needs only.

EMERGING LOCAL PLAN

In terms of future housing delivery beyond 2017, the emerging new local plan (which has been submitted for examination and is likely to be adopted by the Council in 2018) suggests that Spaxton would see it classified a Tier 3 Settlement. Given the time required to bring forward a firm affordable housing proposal for planning, any housing initiative in Spaxton would be considered under the Council’s new local plan.

The new local plan is unlikely to allocate land for new residential development, from which the local planning authority (“LPA”) could secure affordable housing by way for planning gain. Even if such a site were to emerge, local people would not have immediate priority for homes secured under this type of policy.

Planning Policy D6 – Planning Gain (New Local Plan Policy D7) This approach would see affordable housing provided through the TCPA planning system as part of private sector lead larger open market housing project and secured by s106 agreement. The precise level of affordable housing would vary from site-to-site. This approach would typical be on land within the village development envelope and can only be used on new-build developments of 6 or more residential units. There is no intelligence to suggest that a suitable site fitting this description will come forward in the near future.

Planning Policy D7 – Affordable Housing by Exception (New Local Plan Policy T5)

Affordable Housing Only Project This would see affordable homes only built by exception outside the village development boundary (“VDB”). This policy is designed to tackle an evidenced based shortage of affordable housing at the local level. The starting point for any project seeking to use this policy would typically be evidence from a local Housing Need Assessment (“HNA”).

This approach is possible in Spaxton. However, this policy is not considered appropriate or helpful in bringing forward new affordable housing at this time. See comments immediately below.

By its very nature, the building of affordable housing requires some form of subsidy support in order to make the homes affordable. Gap funding has in the past usually been provided by the public sector (central or local government). Securing sufficient levels of public funds in support of new affordable housing has become increasingly more difficult due to reductions in government expenditure. Since winning the May 2015 election, government has embarked on a radical alternative affordable housing policy focussed on home ownership. It is impossible to say when (or if) sufficient central government funds specifically for affordable housing will be forthcoming.

Cross-Subsidy Mixed Tenure Project In some ways, a similar approach as described in D7. This would see new affordable homes built alongside open market homes for sale by exception outside the village development boundary (“VDB”). Again, this policy is designed to tackle an evidenced based shortage of affordable housing at the local level. The starting point for any project is the evidence from a local HNA.

This approach is not currently an option under the current local plan. However, it will be a genuine option in Spaxton.

Unlike policy D7, the delivery of the affordable homes is not reliant on the provision of public sector funds (central or local government). The funding required for the affordable homes would come from the sale of the open market homes. Projects using this policy would typically be required to provide a minimum 40% of the new homes to be affordable. This approach has been successfully used at Crockers Hill in Woolavington to deliver 18 new affordable homes.

Better Use of Existing Affordable Housing Stock This would see the existing stock put to better use. This approach could see the current homes modified or be subject to deregulation from its current use. This would not naturally increase the supply of new affordable homes.

Empty Homes Sedgemoor District Council operates am Empty Homes Scheme to assist with helping to bring the property back into use, sometimes leased on an affordable basis.

Self-Build or Custom Build or Community Led Initiative The Government wants to enable more people to build or commission their own home and make this a more mainstream housing option. Still requires land on which any new homes could be built.

A limited number of copies of this report will be published. The report will be available on the Sedgemoor District Council web site www.sedgemoor.gov.uk.

If you would like a receive a copy of this report, you should contact

Affordable Housing Development Unit Strategy and Business Services Bridgwater House King Square Bridgwater Somerset TA6 3AR

Telephone: 0845 408 2540 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sedgemoor.gov.uk