A Government-appointed planning inspector is threatening to
undermine Suffolk Coastal’s commitment to increasing the proportion
of affordable homes in the district for local people.
Geoff Salter held a special Planning Inquiry on March 15 at the
Council’s Melton Hill offices to decide whether, through a series
of recommendations, to give official backing for Suffolk Coastal’s
proposed new measures to address the district’s need for affordable
housing. The Council has now received his report.
“To help meet the increasingly urgent local demand for
affordable housing, we proposed that one in three of all new homes
in developments of three or more houses in villages, or six or more
in towns, should be affordable housing,” said Cllr Rae Leighton,
Acting Cabinet Member for Planning.
“This sensible and important new tool is now in real danger of
being blunted by Mr Salter who recommends that the thresholds for
the application of the one in three homes rule should be increased
to developments of nine in villages and 15 in towns
respectively.
“I cannot see the logic for this recommendation which seems to
fly in the face of the real needs of our district’s communities as
small villages so seldom have developments of nine or more houses.
It goes against all the Government’s statements about how important
it is that councils encourage more affordable housing. We will now
have to consider what we can do to ensure that the requirements of
our residents are met,” added Cllr Leighton.
The Inspector’s report is due to be presented to a series of
meetings, starting with the Local Development Framework Task Group
on July 25 before finally the October meeting of Cabinet makes a
recommendation to Council on the way ahead.
In his report, Mr Salter does support some policy changes
suggested by the Council, including the consideration of granting
planning permission on land outside of established town boundaries.
These ‘exception’ sites would not normally be released for housing
development. The draft report accepts this proposal for the edges
of Aldeburgh, Framlingham, Leiston and Saxmundham but not for
Woodbridge as the Council had also wanted.
Councillors now have to decide whether to accept the
recommendations and then give the district a chance to comment on
what would then be proposed modifications to the Local Plan, the
existing planning blueprint for Suffolk Coastal.
A district-wide housing needs survey commissioned by Suffolk
Coastal in 2000 revealed that 484 new affordable homes a year were
required to meet local demand, with a particular need for rented
housing. There has been a considerable amount of new house building
in the district in recent years, but much of it has been targeted
at people already on the rungs of the housing ladder.
Changing social trends such as more young single people wanting
a home of their own, people living longer and the break-up of
relationships is creating a constantly increasing need for smaller
and low-cost accommodation which has not been met by the market-led
demand for large
properties.