By Councillor Mrs Temperton to Councillor Turrell, Executive Member for Planning and Transport
Bracknell Forest residents, as elsewhere, have an increasing need for affordable rented homes:
· How many affordable houses (2,3 and 4 bedroomed) and affordable flats (1, 2, 3, 4 bedroomed) for rent - not for shared ownership - have been completed in the last two years and are proposed in the adopted plans for new development sites?
· Is this housing peppered throughout the developments, as suggested as best practice, or clustered in certain areas?
· Has any money been negotiated in S106 agreements in lieu of providing such housing?
Minutes:
Councillor Mrs Temperton asked Councillor Turrell, Executive Member for Planning and Transport the following published question:
Bracknell Forest residents, as elsewhere, have an increasing need for affordable rented homes:
· How many affordable houses (2,3 and 4 bedroomed) and affordable flats (1, 2, 3, 4 bedroomed) for rent - not for shared ownership - have been completed in the last two years and are proposed in the adopted plans for new development sites?
· Is this housing peppered throughout the developments, as suggested as best practice, or clustered in certain areas?
· Has any money been negotiated in S106 agreements in lieu of providing such housing?
In response Councillor Turrell confirmed that 36 affordable rented units had been completed over the past two years with 15 of these being apartments and 21 houses. A further 51 shared ownership homes were delivered in this time period. He added that the Council was projecting a further 65 rented units to be completed in 2017/18 as part of the Warfield development. He stated that the Borough Local Plan sought to achieve affordable housing on all sites where 15 or more dwellings were being provided or on sites larger than a hectare and that it was estimated that just under 600 affordable rented units would be delivered on the sites specifically identified in the local plan but not yet with planning permission.
He added that in practice on larger sites affordable housing was located in different areas across the whole site so that they are integrated in the development whereas on smaller sites they tended to be located in one or two locations. The Parks and Jennett’s Park were recent examples of estates where affordable housing has been pepper-potted through the development.
Councillor Turrell reported that over the past two years the Council had secured £2.9 million towards affordable housing provision which would be collected as developments progressed and trigger points in legal agreements were reached. These contributions would then be allocated to the delivery of affordable housing within the borough.
Downshire Homes Ltd, the Council’s Housing Company, had purchased 20 properties after receiving loan finance from the Council in 2016/17 and was on track to purchase 21 properties in 2017/18.
Councillor Mrs Temperton asked a supplementary question about who decided whether people were allocated a house or a flat and how the building of affordable homes could be sped up as the demand was urgent. In response Councillor Turrell explained that planning applications were considered within the Local Plan. Policy is 25% affordable housing with a ratio of 30/70 between social and shared ownership housing. Permissions had been given but they were not being built as quickly but housing completions were increasing. Councillor Turrell deferred to Councillor D Birch in relation to the housing allocation element of the question. Councillor D Birch added that the MyChoice system considered applications through a time and merits process. Applicants could bid on available properties and were also not required to accept properties they were offered. Seven families were currently housed in Bed and Breakfasts outside of the borough but this was usually a lower average of three families.