Lack of affordable housing blocks proposals for 53 Devon homes

The application had included proposals for 11 affordable homes, which comprised around 20% of the total housing amount to be provided, below North Devon District Council's policy guideline targets of between 35% and 50%. The application was rejected by the Council in February.

The Inspector said in his decision letter (7-page / 138KB PDF) that the proposed development site was outside the settlement boundary identified in the Council's development plan. However, he said that because the Council did not have a five year housing land supply in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, housing would need to extend beyond the identified boundaries.

The inspector acknowledged that the benefits the proposed development would provide by contributing towards the Council's need for housing could be considered to outweigh the adverse environmental impact on the countryside that the loss of open land would cause.

However, he said that those benefits were "significantly and demonstrably" outweighed by the developer's failure to demonstrate provision of sufficient affordable housing.

The inspector said that the developer's viability assessment, which supported the proposed affordable housing amount, did not appear to have been based on the expected affordable housing levels set out in the Council's Local Plan and Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG).

He said that the developer had also failed to carry out sensitivity analysis to indicate the impact any higher affordable housing provision would have and that it had failed to consider residual land values in its assessment.

"I do not know the level of engagement offered by the Council on this matter," the Inspector said. "However, I consider that it is the responsibility of the appellant to be aware of the very significant implications of the requirement to provide affordable housing, to provide full assessment of the implications on the viability of the site and, where possible, to reach agreement with the Council on an appropriate level," he added.