Comment

Representation ID: 22980

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Barratt David Wilson Homes

Agent: Pegasus Planning Group

Our client supports the principle of relaxing controls on the development of land adjacent to development boundaries but believes that the figure of permitted developments should not be capped at a maximum total of 3 dwellings within each parish during the lifetime of the plan. Our client also believes that Policy 7.5 should not ‘support’ the delivery of self-build plots but instead it must prioritise them. An amendment of Policy 7.5 so it relates to self-build plots only, and removes the cap on numbers, should be the Councils’ primary approach to the delivery of self-build plots in order to meet their statutory requirement to promote self-build housing. This approach should be used rather than seeking to secure a percentage of self-build plots on developments of 40 dwellings or more, which are often less desirable locations for self-builders to live, as would be required by Policy 5.

A relaxation of development boundaries to allow the delivery of sensitive self-build plots that infill sites within a recognisable group of dwellings, and respect the form and character of settlements, is a positive tool to promote development and boost the supply of housing. The removal of a cap on the number of homes that could be delivered in each parish would ultimately allow for more self-build homes to come forward as windfall sites. If the only homes that were permitted were to accommodate the needs of people on the Councils’ self-build registers this would mean that the new homes were occupied by people with ties to the area. This is also likely to mean that these new homes would be more acceptable to local communities. When considering applications for such developments planning officers would need to exercise their professional judgement as to whether individual schemes infilled sites within a recognisable group of dwellings and respected the form and character of the settlement with no detrimental impact on the landscape and natural environment. This would still allow development control officers to refuse applications for inappropriate developments in more sensitive locations.

Prioritising the delivery of self-build plots on the edges of development boundaries is more of a sound policy than relying on major development sites to deliver self-build plots. Especially as the cost of delivering infrastructure to serve these larger sites often impacts negatively on the percentage of affordable housing that is delivered. A requirement for self-build plots on developments of 40 dwellings or more, which generate less revenue for developers than finished homes, has the potential to further reduce the percentage of affordable housing on these large sites.

By permitting the development of small sites on the edges of development boundaries to accommodate self-build plots it would help to boost the supply of housing, address the Councils’ self-build registers and provide a continued source of employment for small builders and tradespeople. It would also remove the obligation from larger development sites in order to maximise the amount of affordable housing that they could viably deliver.