All new development of ten or more open market residential dwellings or on sites of 0.5 hectares or more, will be required to contribute to the provision of affordable housing in accordance with South Tyneside Council’s SPD on Affordable Housing, latest Housing Needs Survey and the latest viability work undertaken for the Council to determine the level of affordable housing that is deliverable.
The level, type and mix of affordable housing to be delivered on each site will have regard to up to date evidence of affordable housing needs, including the current East Boldon Housing Needs Assessment (2019) and South Tyneside Strategic Housing Market Assessment (2015) and any subsequent updates. There will be a presumption that the affordable housing contribution will be through the provision of affordable homes on the application site. Off-site provision or a financial contribution will only be supported where this can be robustly justified and the following criteria can be met:
a. Off-site provision must be on a site that is agreed as being in a suitable location relative to the housing need to be met. Such provision will be secured and controlled by a planning obligation to ensure that the affordable housing is delivered alongside the housing on the principal site; or
b. Where a financial contribution to off-site provision of affordable housing is agreed as an alternative to direct provision on site, the sum will be calculated at a rate to be determined at the time of the application by the local planning authority in accordance with the Council’s SPD on Affordable Housing.
Any development proposal which involves the provision of affordable housing at a level below that required under the terms of South Tyneside Council’s policy and guidance will need to be justified by an independent viability assessment of the scheme costs and end values. The assessment should be undertaken in accordance with the approach set out in national planning guidance.
The affordable housing provided in pursuit of this policy for rent, discount market sales housing, or where public grant funding is provided towards other affordable routes to home ownership, will be made available to people in housing need at an affordable sale or rental cost for the life of the property.
The NPPF states that affordable housing provision should not be sought on residential developments that are not major (less than 10 dwellings). However, where major development is proposed there is the expectation that at least 10% of the homes should be available for affordable home ownership, unless this would exceed the level of affordable housing required in the area or significantly prejudice the ability to meet the identified affordable housing needs of specific groups.
The information contained within both the HNA and HNS identifies the affordability issues across the plan area. The forum therefore considers the provision of affordable housing to be vital to allow young people and young families to get on the housing ladder and stay within the local community. Affordable housing could be available to buy or rented.
Policy EB14 therefore seeks to support the delivery of affordable housing where there is an identified need. This will support the delivery of plan objectives 1 and 5.
Any planning permission granted will be subject to appropriate conditions and/or planning obligations to secure: the amount and type of affordable housing; that the housing will be discounted at an appropriate level to ensure it is affordable by people identified as being in housing need; and a mechanism for the management of the new homes to ensure that the first and subsequent occupancies are restricted to people in housing need.
In view of the Green belt constraints and limited availability of housing land, off-site affordable housing provision may have to be located elsewhere in South Tyneside.