Reading Borough Council’s Affordable Housing Policy, H3, sets out the thresholds and expected contributions. This policy is very strict, and even sites of 1-4 dwellings, a contribution towards affordable housing is required. As a result, some developments are unviable, with many applicants and developers reconsidering whether they should go ahead.
Reading’s validation checklist requires that “all developments proposing new dwellings or additional floorspace required to increase residential units (not HMOs or conversions of existing floor area) must include an affordable housing statement.”
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. Therefore, it is essential to consider whether you think your development is viable or unviable prior to submitting your application, as this could cause delays at the validation and determination stages.
If you believe that Policy H3 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!