Decision details

Decision details

Commuted Sums for the Provision of Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (Revised)

Decision Maker: Cabinet

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: Yes

Purpose:

Adoption of the Revised Commuted Sums for the Provision of Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document. The document will clarify the funds new residential developments will be required to provide for affordable housing in Watford.

Decisions:

A report was received from the Planning Policy Section Head.  Councillor Sharpe introduced the report and explained that the revised Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) was to give greater clarity and understanding of the existing document rather than to make a substantive change e.g., there were more worked examples to provide illustrations to developers.  It remained council policy to have onsite provision where possible but it had been found that there were occasions where a development was primarily small flats that could result in schemes that were policy compliant but were not meeting the housing need. 

 

Councillor Sharpe continued that the SPD was coming back for Cabinet approval as the original document was agreed by Cabinet.  However, there was provision in the recommendations that future revisions could be agreed by the Deputy Managing Director and the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Development.  Councillor Sharpe proposed a change to the recommendation to include the words “non substantive” with regards to the future revisions which could be made.

 

The Deputy Managing Director explained that the SPD had been in place for just under a year.  The document was updated based on local market factors and would be reviewed annually.

 

Following questions from Cabinet the Deputy Managing Director explained that a suitably qualified person to carry out viability appraisals would be someone who met the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors criteria.  They would be expected to work through land appraisals, construction costs and may engage further specialists as required.  The viability figures were then checked by the council’s own consultants to verify the facts.  If the council’s consultants felt that the viability appraisal was not suitable then the developer would be contacted and asked to resubmit, if these were still unsuitable the development would be rejected.

 

Following a question from Councillor Johnson, the Deputy Managing Director agreed to provide a pre-amble to viability reports so there was an audit trail of who had signed off the report from the council.

 

Cabinet agreed the change to the wording of the recommendation.

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

            That Cabinet agrees:

1.         That the commuted sums for the Provision of Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (Revised) be adopted

 

2.         Future non substantive revisions to the document can be agreed by the Deputy Managing Director in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Development

Report author: Ian Dunsford

Publication date: 11/07/2018

Date of decision: 02/07/2018

Decided at meeting: 02/07/2018 - Cabinet

Effective from: 11/07/2018

Accompanying Documents:

 

rating button