Elmbridge Council’s Affordable Housing policy, CS21, sets out the Council’s thresholds and requirements for affordable housing contributions on developments which incorporate dwellinghouses.
The policy is very strict and applies to the gross number of dwellings. As a result, this makes some developments unviable.
The policy can particularly impact small developments, of 1-5 dwellings, for which a 20% affordable housing contribution will be required.
However, affordable housing is required subject to viability. That means that if a development is agreed to be unviable, it will not need to provide a contribution. The Development Plan states that “where it is considered that the delivery of affordable housing in accordance with the policy is unviable, this must be demonstrated through the submission of a financial appraisal (also known as a ‘Viability Assessment’) alongside a planning application."
Therefore, if you believe that Policy CS21 is making your development unviable, you might consider submitting a Viability Assessment with your application.
A Viability Assessment will fully evaluate the values and costs associated with your scheme to understand whether any developer contributions, including affordable housing, should be provided. If you would like assistance with an assessment, please feel free to get in touch, and we would be more than happy to help!