Issue - meetings

(Housing and Community Services) To consider the attached report (C-012-2020-21).

(1)        The Cabinet agreed to adopt a 2-part register;

(2)        The Cabinet agreed to adopt and implement local connection and financial solvency tests; and

(3)        The Cabinet agreed the adoption of the overarching policy.

The Housing and Community Services Portfolio Holder introduced the report on adopting a two-part register for self-build and custom housebuilding. It was noted that this report had been extensively discussed at the recent Council Housebuilding Cabinet Committee.

The Council currently has a single Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register which was not divided into two parts.

The registration process in its current form counted all entries in the register as demand for Self-build and Custom Housebuilding (SBCH) in the District. A two part registration would be beneficial in terms of prioritising applicants with local connections to the area and establishing a more realistic assessment of local demand.

Access to Part 1 of the Register should be subject to a local connection test based on living or working in the District and a financial assessment of capability to purchase plots.

The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding register came into effect through the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016, to promote the Government’s Right to Build Scheme supporting individuals and associations wishing to build their own homes.

The legislation created a duty on the Relevant Authorities, including District Councils, to keep a register and have regard to the register when carrying out their planning, housing, land disposal and regeneration functions.  Furthermore, a duty to grant planning permission for enough suitable serviced plots of land to meet the demand for Self-build and Custom Housebuilding in the area. This level of demand was established by reference to the number of entries added to an authority’s register during each base period.

Decision:

(1)        The Cabinet agreed to adopt a two-part register;

(2)        The Cabinet agreed to adopt and implement local connection and financial solvency tests; and

(3)        The Cabinet agreed the adoption of the overarching policy.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:

The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016) required the Council to keep a register of individuals and associations who were seeking to acquire serviced plots of land in the District for self-build and custom housebuilding.

With the housing pressure and limited capacity to meet all housing needs, it was essential that the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register was effective, by adopting the eligibility criteria noted above and implementing a two-part register, it provided the necessary prioritisation to support local applicants and their housing need.

Other Options for Action:

To continue to use a single register means that the Council had a statutory requirement to provide permissioned serviced plots to all applicants on the register regardless of local connection. This option made it difficult to prioritise limited land supply and meet local need with multiple applications from applicants across various local authorities.