Getting started
The need for affordable housing can come from anyone, but typically comes from:
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a parish council
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a landowner bringing forward a piece of land
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someone in the community identifying themselves as having an affordable housing need
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the local rural housing enabler asking the parish council if they would like a new housing needs survey, as they expire every three to five years.
What is a housing needs survey?
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An anonymous questionnaire sent to every household in the parish.
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It identifies the amount, the types, and the tenures of affordable housing that’s needed.
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And establishes what is affordable to the household looking for somewhere to live, for example social/affordable rent or shared ownership.
How are they used?
The result of the housing needs surveys are then used by the community (i.e. parish council, Community and Trust, housing association, local authority) to decide whether to proceed with investigating building a housing scheme in that parish.
Step three: Identifying a suitable site
The best place to start when looking for site options is with the Parish Council. They are familiar with its area, community and history – all of which can be essential in identifying a site.
We would invite the parish council, local authority, CLT and planners to walk around the parish looking for suitable sites. We would appraise the sites, looking at several factors to decide if it's suitable, for example:
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the location
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access
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topology
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size
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overhead cables and trees.
Once a possible site is identified, we would:
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find out who the landowner is
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see if they’d be willing to sell at rural exception price – this is typically £10,000 per dwelling.
Design to moving in
We’ll commission an architect to draft a scheme design to make the case for raising finance.
We’ll carry out a financial viability assessment to establish cost and funding requirements. This will include speaking to:
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Homes England
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the Local Authority
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our Board.
We’ll organise a community consultation event, giving the community an opportunity to have their say on the design of the homes, housing types and tenure mix. We will:
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display images and examples of what is being proposed, with opportunities for the community to comment
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answer questions about what the scheme will provide and who will live in it
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record all comments in a report that explains how they have been accommodated and if not, why this has not been possible.
Following the consultation the design will be finalised.
As the planners and councils has been involved throughout the process, they will be expecting the full planning submission.
Once approved, land is purchased with a Section 106 agreement in place. A Section 106 means that the homes will always remain in perpetuity as affordable for local people.
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We tender and appoint a contractor to build the homes.
Once the build is underway, we attend site meetings to monitor progress.
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The local connection criteria are set out in the Section 106, as part of the planning approval.
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Where possible, we will hold an open event for local people to find out more and ask questions about the allocation process
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The homes are advertised by the local authority, and they provide us with nominations, with local connection taking precedent.
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Our housing team will meet, interview and do a financial check on each nomination. Successful applicants will be allocated a home.
On completion of the build, residents move in, and often there is a community celebration.