Adopted Teignbridge Affordable Housing Policy (May 2014)
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Teignbridge Affordable Housing Policy (Proposed 2023) – Regulation 19
Current: Adopted Teignbridge Affordable Housing Policy(May 2014)
The current Teignbridge Local Plan was adopted in May 2014 and “sets out a set of policies, proposals and actions to meet the environmental, social and economic challenges facing the area”.
Policy WE2 of the current Local Plan sets out the expectations for Affordable Housing in the area, this can be seen below:
The above policy identifies the thresholds at which Affordable Housing will be sought in Teignbridge; this is summarised below:
This highlights that depending on the location of your development, the amount of on-site Affordable Housing sought will differ, but that affordable housing contributions apply to any scheme over 4 units. This policy applies to all open market sites including change of use schemes and conversions.
New: Teignbridge Affordable Housing Policy (Proposed2023) – Regulation 19
The adopted Affordable Housing policy is noticeably different to what is proposed in the Teignbridge Local Plan 2020-2040 Proposed Submission Regulation 19 (January 2023). This will continue in consultation stage until March 2023, after which there is likely to be further amendment before adoption – however it is useful to understand what changes are proposed in advance so you can plan accordingly. The main changes to the new policy are outlined below in Policy H2:
Like the adopted policy, the proposed will apply to all residential sites including change of use of conversion schemes; however it does exclude any allocations or policies with specific requirements.
Unlike the adopted policy, the above splits up the unit threshold at which an Affordable Housing provision would be sought. This is 5+dwellings in designated rural areas and 10+ dwellings in non-designated rural areas.
For apartments and flats on brownfield land in Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton, there is no longer any affordable housing required. Whereas non-flatted development on brownfield land in these two areas will be required to provide 20% on-site – this is to be split between Social Rent, Shared Ownership and First Homes.
For all other developments in Newton Abbot, Kingsteignton, Chudleigh, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Bovey Tracey and the Edge of Exeter, 25%on-site affordable housing is required. Again, to be split between Social Rent, Shared Ownership and First Homes.
Then in villages and rural areas of Teignbridge, the provision of 30% on-site AH will be expected, split between the various tenures.
In the majority of cases, affordable housing is expected to be provided on-site with the other open market units; however, in certain circumstances, a financial contribution towards to provision of AH elsewhere in Teignbridge could be considered.
Summary
The most significant changes to the draft affordable housing policy in Teignbridge are:
1. Urban areas threshold has been raised from 5+units to 10+ units in line with the NPPF.
2. Flats and apartments on brownfield land in Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton no longer require any affordable housing contribution.
The progress of the draft local plan will be watched keenly, as this may have considerable implications for site viability in the area.
We keep up to date on affordable housing policy changes UK-wide. If you have any questions about potential policy changes in Teignbridge or other councils, please do give us a call to discuss.
