New Local Plan Requires Half of New Homes to Be Affordable
Developers may also need to make 35% available for social rent
Highcliffe Drive, SW15. Picture: Mandy Barry-Cades
November 22, 2024
New developments in a Wandsworth borough could soon be required to provide at least 50 per cent affordable housing to tackle inequality. Wandsworth Council has agreed to amend the Local Plan for 2023 to 2028, which is the main document used to decide on planning applications in the borough.
The amendments include proposals to increase the percentage of affordable housing required on new property developments from at least 35 per cent to 50 per cent, along with seeking a 70/30 split in favour of social rent. Social rents are set using a government formula, which takes account of the relative value of the property, its size and relative local income levels.
These changes would apply to all developments of more than nine properties on privately-owned land. For small developments of nine or fewer homes, the council is proposing that a financial contribution towards affordable housing equivalent to £50,000 per property must be made.
The authority’s Transport Committee green-lit the plans on 19 November, which will go before the executive for final approval on 9 December. The council will then hold a public consultation on the proposals early next year, before submitting them to the government for a final decision.
Labour council leader Simon Hogg said: “Fifty per cent affordable housing in all new developments will transform lives because a decent affordable place to call home is the foundation of a good life. We have more than 10,000 of our fellow residents waiting for housing at the moment, 3,000 of those woke up this morning homeless in Wandsworth Council temporary accommodation, so it’s absolutely crucial we can deliver more affordable housing because local people can’t access those new-built flats by the river if they’ve grown up here.”
Councillor Hogg added: “This administration has been very clear – we’re delivering genuinely affordable homes for local people, not luxury flats targeted at overseas investors.”
There were 13,513 people on the council’s housing waiting list in March this year. A report by council officers added: “The revised policy also makes clear that new affordable housing is expected to be of a similarly high quality to any market housing, should be informed by meaningful engagement with registered providers, and that any development not meeting the full policy requirements on independently-verified viability grounds will be subject to early and late stage review mechanisms.”
The council announced a partial review of the Local Plan to strengthen affordable housing policies last year, after Labour won control of the authority from the Conservatives in May 2022. The authority, under the previous administration, published the first draft of the Local Plan in 2021 and the final version was adopted in July 2023.
The authority will launch a six-week public consultation on the planned changes to the Local Plan in January. The Planning Inspectorate will then consider the proposals, which the council hopes to adopt by spring 2026 if they are deemed to be sound and legally compliant.
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter