North Hertfordshire District Council

Wallington Neighbourhood Plan 2022 - 2031 Submission Version June 2023

Ended on the 30 August 2023
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(1)5 Housing

Policy W2: Meeting local housing needs

Purpose

5.1. This policy seeks to influence the type and tenure of any new housing development in Wallington, in order that it meets the needs of local people as evidenced through the local housing needs assessment and survey.

Justification

5.2. Wallington currently comprises 61 dwellings and is home to approximately 150 residents. There are 44 dwellings located within the built core. The age profile of the community is significantly older than that of North Hertfordshire district and the wider region: between 2001 and 2011, the number of residents aged 65 and over rose by 32% (19 residents in 2001 and 25 residents in 2011) compared to 17% across the district. Furthermore, the numbers of residents aged 45 to 64 formed a substantial part of the population in 2011 when compared to the district. Ten years on, many of these residents will now fall within the older bracket or be approaching it, adding to the older demographic.

5.3. Conversely, the number of children aged 15 and under fell significantly between 2001 and 2011, although in more recent years, there have been at least four new families with young children who would fall into the 15 and under age category moving to the area.

5.4. The number of older teenagers and young adults is fairly high in the parish, compared with wider geographies, suggesting that children are remaining at home for longer. This is not necessarily unusual, as demonstrated in research, however for those wishing to stay local, there are clearly few opportunities for young people in this bracket to buy or rent locally.

5.5. 66% of dwellings have at least two spare bedrooms. This is significantly higher than for the district and wider region, but is perhaps not surprising given the number of larger properties in the parish compared to smaller ones and the propensity for many people to stay in the village.

5.6. Data from the 2011 Census, taken together with the findings of both the top-down Housing Needs Assessment and locally driven Local Housing Survey, point to the need for any new infill housing in the village to prioritise the following needs:

  1. Smaller properties to enable older people to downsize locally if they wish, or for those starting out on the housing ladder. This would free up larger houses for existing or new families to fully occupy. Providing opportunities to downsize was supported by 50% of residents in the Local Housing Survey.
  2. More affordable properties, both for sale and to rent, to attract those starting out on the ladder. This would introduce a younger age group to the village, which in turn will help the sustain the vitality of Wallington. The Local Housing survey demonstrated support for more younger families to be attracted to the village (61%).

5.7. It is noted that in the context of being a Category B village, it is likely that any new development is likely to be small-scale and fall beneath the threshold requiring affordable homes to be delivered. Nevertheless, there may be instances of developers wishing to bring forward affordable homes, including through a rural exception site, and Policy W2 provides the detail of what should be prioritised to meet the local needs of the neighbourhood area.

5.8. First Homes -In June 2021 the Government introduced a policy requiring 25% of affordable housing provided to be First Homes. These are a specific kind of discounted market sale housing and should be considered to meet the definition of 'affordable housing' for planning purposes. Specifically, First Homes are discounted market sale units which:

  1. must be discounted by a minimum of 30% against the market value;
  2. are sold to a person or persons meeting the First Homes eligibility criteria (see below);
  3. on their first sale, will have a restriction registered on the title at HM Land Registry to ensure this discount (as a percentage of current market value) and certain other restrictions are passed on at each subsequent title transfer; and,
  4. after the discount has been applied, the first sale must be at a price no higher than £250,000.

5.9. First Homes are the government's preferred discounted market tenure and should account for at least 25% of all affordable housing units delivered by developers through planning obligations.

5.10. NHDC advise that given the timing of the introduction of First Homes, the adopted Local Plan does not account for First Homes in its housing policies. The housing policies contained in the Local Plan have been developed in line with the associated evidence base, which includes the Strategic Housing Market Assessment undertaken in 2016. The Council is currently in the process of updating its Strategic Housing Market Assessment Volume II to include the implications of First Homes. Once complete, this evidence base document will inform the approach to First Homes when determining planning applications.

5.11. Under transitional arrangements, once the Council has an up to date adopted Local Plan, there is not an automatic need to reflect the requirement for First Homes when considering planning applications. The Council will not normally support the provision of First Homes as part of the affordable housing mix. Nonetheless, the Council do recognise that National Planning Practice Guidance recommends a flexible approach to the delivery of First Homes and, on occasion, there may be specific circumstances where it is necessary to consider their inclusion as an affordable housing product. The appropriateness of any First Homes will be considered on a case-by-case basis, where the overall proportion of affordable housing that can be achieved on site will not be adversely affected and the Local Plan requirement for 65% of affordable homes for rent is met. Further information is contained in the Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document(January 2023).

(1)POLICY W2: MEETING LOCAL HOUSING NEEDS

  1. All new residential development within Wallington must provide a quantity of affordable housing in line with the requirements contained within the North Hertfordshire Local Plan. Affordable homes should be well integrated with market housing.

  2. The mix of housing sizes, types, tenures, and affordability in proposed development should, in so far as is reasonably practicable and subject to viability considerations, assist in meeting the needs identified in the most recently available Wallington Local Housing Needs Assessment. Proposals that will deliver smaller one-, two-, and three-bedroom dwellings, to address the needs of single people, young couples, smaller families and the elderly will be supported, and in accordance with Policy W4 (Reinforcing Wallington's Local Character through Design) of this Neighbourhood Plan.
     
  3. Subject to the other policies of this plan, proposals for community-led housing projects including self-build and co-operative housing will be supported.

Conformity reference: NP Objective: 4; Local Plan: SP2, SP8; NPPF: 60 to 65, 78

Policy W3: Residential development within the built core

Purpose

5.12. This policy has two purposes. The first is to provides specific criteria to be met by proposals for both infill and windfall (defined by the NPPF as sites not specifically identified in the development plan) development within the defined built core of the village, in accordance with the scale of development anticipated in a Category B village. As part of this, it seeks to restrict back-land development, which refers to sites including residential garden land and any land which sits behind the existing development with little or no frontage onto a public highway.

5.13. The second purpose is to acknowledge that the main opportunities for housing provision in the neighbourhood area are on previously developed (brownfield sites), which in Wallington comprise largely former agricultural sites. The WNP supports housing provision on such sites, which should make effective use of space and hence could be larger than what would constitute 'infill' within the wider village setting. This will help to avoid the piecemeal development of such sites.

Justification

5.14. The Local Plan states that within a Category B village such as Wallington, limited infill development that does not extend beyond the built core of the village into the surrounding countryside, will be permitted.

5.15. Infill is defined by the Planning Portal as "the development of a relatively small gap between existing buildings". It usually consists of a frontage plot only and often comprises the side gardens of existing houses. The Local Plan does not set a size threshold for infill development. It is our view that this should be considered on a site-by-site basis taking into consideration the size of the site and the character of the area. For the purposes of this policy, therefore, infill development is defined as the development of a small gap in an otherwise built-up frontage, which comprises a front/side entrance leading to an adopted road. Back-land development, which is generally the more comprehensive development of land behind an existing frontage, and tandem development, the placing of one dwelling behind another within a single plot, will be resisted.

5.16. Local engagement revealed that infill was viewed as an acceptable form of development on a small-scale so long as it was in keeping with the existing character and context of the village and was designed in a way to minimise its impacts on neighbouring properties. There was also a desire amongst parishioners to refrain from back-land development. This was felt to lead to cramming of sites with the associated adverse impacts, including loss of amenity; overshadowing and overlooking; loss of sunlight/daylight; noise; loss of green links/trees/hedgerows/vegetation; visual intrusion; loss of space between buildings; difficulties of recycling and waste collections/bin storage.

Defining private amenity space: Residential amenity is not defined in law. In planning terms, 'amenity' is often used to refer to the quality or character of an area and elements that contribute to the overall enjoyment of an area. Residential amenity considers elements that are particularly relevant to the living conditions of a dwelling.

Residential amenity has a significant and valuable impact on the way in which people use their homes. It relates to both the home itself and any private outdoor space associated with the home. The health and well-being of residents is often directly related to the level of residential amenity occupants can enjoy. It is a duty of the planning system to support sustainable development. Sustainable development incorporates a social role which seeks to secure well designed, strong, vibrant and healthy communities. When assessing how a development proposal may impact on the existing amenity of an area and living conditions of nearby occupiers, the following issues would be significant:

1. Privacy How would the development proposals affect privacy levels?

2. Overbearing effects Would the scale of development and its proximity to other buildings result in an oppressive environment?

3. Natural light and outlook Would the development provide existing or proposed properties with sufficient outlook and natural lighting levels thereby avoiding significant overshadowing and enclosure?

4. Environmental effects Would the development cause or be exposed to any other environmental effects?

5. Other design guidance How does the design of the proposal promote a good standard of amenity?

5.17. Within the neighbourhood area are agricultural sites, some of which are underused or vacant, and which could be redeveloped to deliver housing or work units (in accordance with Policy W12), where this is pursued in a way to reinforce Wallington's character. For example, the development of the currently disused Manor Farm into smaller, more affordable dwellings could resolve the housing bottleneck for the next 20-30 years (the next generation). The building of new 2- to 3-bedroom properties could release larger properties in Wallington. Such sites may have scope for larger numbers of homes than infill would normally allow for.

(2)POLICY W3: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE BUILT CORE

  1. Within the built core of Wallington, the following will be supported:
    1. The redevelopment of brownfield and previously developed former agricultural sites, making most efficient use of space; and
    2. Infilling comprising extensions or new developments, between existing residential development where infilling development is defined as the development of a small gap in an otherwise built-up frontage, which has a front/side entrance leading directly onto an adopted road;

      where the following criteria are met:
       
    3. proposals should seek to address identified local housing needs, in accordance with Policy W2; and
    4. proposals are expected to preserve and enhance the local character of Wallington, in accordance with Policy W5 of this Neighbourhood Plan, following the guidance contained in the Wallington Design Guidelines and Codes (Appendix C of this WNP); and
    5. development must reflect the prevailing density of the village; and
    6. avoid development that would cause unacceptable harm to private amenity space (including the property and associated outdoor space) provision for existing residential properties; and
    7. development must have a direct highway access to the front/side of the property; and
    8. development should not adversely affect the significant heritage assets, including where relevant the special interest, character and appearance of the Conservation Area, as set out in the Conservation Area Statement; and
    9. the proposal would not have significant unacceptable impacts upon the local road network, in accordance with Policy W4 (Character and Design of development); and
    10. the provision of adequate waste storage space to enable recycling is provided; and
    11. where appropriate, development proposals should incorporate sustainable drainage facilities which, where practicable, enhance wildlife and biodiversity in their immediate locality.
       
  2. Proposals for development of back-land sites, including residential garden land within the built core, will not be supported where it would result in significant harm to the character and appearance of the local area.

Conformity reference: NP Objective: 1, 2, 4; Local Plan: SP2; NPPF: 64, 69, 70, 79, 124

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