Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Planning and Development - Affordable Housing Policy

Meeting: 23/07/2015 - Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee (Item 50)

50 Report of the Head of Planning and Development - Affordable Housing Policy pdf icon PDF 220 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

Issue for Decision

 

To consider and approve the officer responses to the representation made on the draft affordable housing policy (DM24) contained in the public consultation draft of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan 2014 (Regulation 18 consultation) set out in Appendix A of the agenda report to the Committee published on 6 July 2015 and the Urgent Update Report tabled at the meeting on 14 July 2015.

 

To approve a revised draft local plan policy for affordable housing that had been amended as a result of public consultation and further viability testing, set out in section 4 of the agenda report.  The revised policy being recommended for further public consultation (Regulation 18) before the Publication version of the local plan is published for consultation (Regulation 19).

 

Decision Made

 

That:

 

1.  Site H1 (12) Haynes, Ashford Road, Maidstone for 200 dwellings be deleted from the draft local plan, to reflect the fact that the site is no longer available for residential development and, for completeness, to include its deletion in the additional public consultation (Regulation 18).

 

2.  The criterion 1(i)(a) Haynes, Ashford Road 20% Affordable Housing be deleted from the recommended policy DM24 Affordable Housing on page 10 of the report to Committee  published on 16 July 2015 with the agenda for the meeting of 23 July 2015.

 

Note – due to an error in the referencing on page 10 of the agenda Decision numbers 1 and 2 above will be represented to the Committee at their meeting on 18 August 2015 for clarification.

 

3.  The draft policy DM24 Affordable Housing, as amended under Section 4 “Preferred Option” of the report, be approved for further public consultation (Regulation 19).

 

4.  The officer responses to the representations submitted during public consultation on the draft Maidstone Borough Local Plan 2014 (Regulation 18) for policy DM24 Affordable Housing, as set out in Appendix A of the officer report be approved.

 

5.  Policy DM24 Affordable Housing be approved subject to a commitment to produce a subsequent Supplementary Planning Document providing further detail and flexibility of tenure for individual sites. The draft document to be agreed by the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transport Committee.

 

   

 

 

 

Minutes:

The Chairman explained this item was a continuation of the Committee’s discussion at the meeting of 14 July 2015.

 

The Committee considered the officer responses to the representations made on the draft affordable housing policy (DM24) contained in the public consultation draft of the Maidstone Borough Local Plan 2014 (Regulation 18 consultation) set out in Appendix A of the agenda report.

 

The Committee were asked to approve the deletion criterion 1 (i)(a) Haynes, Ashford Road, Maidstone from policy DM24 as set out in the urgent update Report tabled at the meeting on 14 July 2015 (included in the agenda papers) as the site was no longer available for residential development.

 

The Committee heard the affordable housing need set out in the SHLAA was 928 dwellings for the period of the Local Plan to 2031.  This figure had been arrived at as a result of two rigorous viability studies (2013 and 2015) to ensure the figure was evidence based, with 40% affordable housing in rural areas and 30% in urban areas (with the exception of the Springfield, Maidstone site).

 

The Committee heard a reduction in the objectively assessed need would result in the policy being found unsound at inspection.

 

The Head of Housing and Community Services presented an urgent update dated 23 July 2015 addressing the concerns raised by the Committee at their meeting of 14 July 2015.  The concerns were in respect of the higher proportion of proposed affordable housing for rural areas (40%) and the potential for social isolation of the residents of these houses.

 

The Committee heard that reducing the affordable housing figure to 30% overall would result in the affordable housing objectively assessed need not being met and the local plan being found unsound at inspection.

 

The Committee noted new rural housing development was proposed in settlements identified in the settlement hierarchy as either a Rural Service Centre or a Larger Village where some day to day need can be met either within the settlement itself or by using public transport.

 

The Committee agreed a Supplementary Planning Document providing further detail and flexibility of tenure for individual sites be included with policy DM24 Affordable Housing.

 

RESOLVED

 

That:

 

1.  Site H1 (12) Haynes, Ashford Road, Maidstone for 200 dwellings be deleted from the draft local plan, to reflect the fact that the site is no longer available for residential development and, for completeness, to include its deletion in the additional public consultation (Regulation 18).

 

Voting:

 

For  9  Against  0  Abstain  0

 

2.  The criterion 1(i)(a) Haynes, Ashford Road 20% Affordable Housing be deleted from the recommended policy DM24 Affordable Housing, on page 10 of the report to Committee  published on 16 July 2015 with the agenda for the meeting of 23 July 2015.

 

Note – due to an error in the referencing on page 10 of the agenda Decision numbers 1 and 2 above will be represented to the Committee at their meeting on 18 August 2015 for clarification.

 

3.  The draft policy DM24 Affordable Housing,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50