Southwark Council publishes draft supplementary planning document

The SPD sets out the Council's approach when assessing planning applications where there is a need for affordable housing and what is required for viability appraisals in a bid to make the decision process more transparent for the public.

The SPD said that a "development which creates 10 or more homes will be policy compliant where at least 35% of homes are affordable" and these must be provided on-site. If a developer's proposal does not meet the Council's affordable housing requirements, "a full viability appraisal will be required". If a full appraisal is not received, the Council will not validate the application and planning officers will not have enough information to determine the application.

The Council also recommend that developers submit a draft viability appraisal at the pre-application stage and seek advice prior to submission of a full planning application.

Further guidance on what information should be included in a full viability appraisal is included in the SPD. This includes guidance on the methodological approach, valuing the development, benchmark values and costs. 

All pre-application appraisals will be treated as confidential. However, "viability appraisals will be published in full prior to determination for all non-policy compliant schemes." The Council has taken an "open book approach" to improve transparency and public support for major developments. 

The document also provides guidance on the location and build of any affordable housing. The Council "expect[s] all affordable housing to be provided on the development site" but in exceptional circumstances, off-site housing and in lieu payments will be accepted but a clear viability appraisal must demonstrate why on-site housing is not feasible.

If a viability appraisal is not required as the proposed development satisfies the Council's affordable housing requirement, developers will be asked to "sign a declaration that the proposed scheme is viable with the proposed level of affordable housing".

Southwark Council hope to adopt this SPD on 15 March 2016.

Planning expert Susanne Andreasen of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "Southwark continues the recent trend of councils seeking to provide transparency to the public in respect of developers' viability appraisals, with the London Boroughs of Hounslow, Islington and Greenwich all having taken similar steps earlier this year."

"Southwark was involved in a First Tier Tribunal decision last year in respect of the regeneration of the Heygate Estate in which the Tribunal judge ordered the Council to disclose parts of the viability assessment submitted by developer Lend Lease. Southwark is therefore understandably keen to implement measures to ensure viability transparency from the outset of the planning process," Andreasen said. 

"Southwark's proposals are a mixed bag. Setting out the Council's expectations like this should help provide greater clarity to developers and may well achieve greater consistency in practice," said Marcus Bate, another planning expert at Pinsent Masons. "However, the approach to confidentiality of commercially sensitive information is too simplistic and affords too little protection to developers."