South Worcestershire Councils Adopt Supplementary Planning Documents
The three Worcestershire Councils of Malvern Hills District, Worcester City and Wychavon District have now adopted their Affordable Housing and Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs) following public consultation earlier this year. The documents are part of the South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP) which was adopted in February 2016.
The Developer Contributions SPD, adopted on 20th October, sets out the Councils’ approach to seeking developer contributions via the SWDP for infrastructure or environmental improvements required as a result of development. The SPD provides guidance about when planning obligations will be expected, the scale of developer contributions, and how developer contributions will be used.
The Affordable Housing SPD, adopted on 26th October, explains the details of the SWDP policies that relate to the provision of affordable housing. It is a guide intended to help developers, landowners and applicants applying for planning permission, registered providers and others who are seeking to provide or benefit from affordable housing. As a general rule, following the amendments to the national threshold, the SPD confirms that housing schemes between 11-14 dwellings would be required to provide 30% affordable housing; schemes of 15 dwellings or more would have to provide 40% affordable housing on greenfield sites and 30% on brownfield sites. There are parts of Malvern Hills and Wychavon that are ‘designated rural areas’ where smaller housing schemes can be liable for affordable housing. In those locations, smaller schemes of between 6 and 9 dwellings have to provide an off-site financial contribution.
The SPD's can be found here.