The results of a study of 166 local authorities conducted by the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) are presented by the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) in its recently published report ‘Homes for All’.
Of particular note is their finding that 61% of these Councils believed that the NPPF’s viability test had ‘hindered their ability to "secure sufficient social and affordable housing to meet local needs".
Conclusive proof that the viability test is a hindering the ability of Councils in Sussex to secure sufficient social and affordable housing to meet their needs was provided on 22 May when the majority of Horsham District’s District Councillors voted to permit Liberty Property Trust’s application to build 2750 houses and a business park on irreplaceable countryside, including ancient woodland and productive farmland, North of Horsham.
Although the site was allocated for development in the District’s local plan with a policy requirement that nearly 1000 (35%) of the new homes would be affordable, the majority of the Councillors who decided the application accepted the Trust’s position that the development could only provide 495 (18%), on the grounds of viability – even though the viability appraisal was deemed to be out-of-date eith the likelihood that a new appraisal would show that the site could deliver more than 18%.
Tellingly, the majority of Councillors were fearful that the Trust would secure permission at Appeal should they defer permitting the application to enable a reassessment to be made.
There is a political dimension to this fear-driven decision, because the Trust’s stance on the provision of affordable homes has been enabled by policies imposed by central government.
The clear and urgent need to revise the viability test and policies, which are heavily weighted in favour of developers, as opposed to truly sustainable development and the urgent need to provide affordable homes, should surely be a major issue for re-elected and newly elected MPs irrespective of Party.
Yours faithfully,
Dr R Smith
Trustee CPRE Sussex
