There is a high level of need for affordable housing in the South Hams district with over 1,600 households on the Councils Housing Register.  A Housing Market and Needs Assessment was carried out in 2006 by David Couttie Associates and concluded that there was a net annual shortfall of 606 units of affordable housing.

In order to meet the scale of housing need identified, the Council will seek to provide high levels of affordable housing on private developments.   The level of affordable housing sought is detailed below.

Current Requirements

For sites of 15 dwellings or more within existing development boundaries, the Council will seek 50% affordable housing. Such provision will be secured by way of a Section 106 agreement.

Future Requirements

Future affordable housing requirements are set out in the Local Development Framework Affordable Housing Development Plan Document (AH-DPD) and the Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (AH-SPD).  In summary the Council’s proposed requirements are:

On allocated sites, in order to address the scale of need, sites will be required to deliver as much affordable housing as is viable.  The local targets across the District are:

• On the Plymouth fringes (sites adjoining the city boundary, as referred to in the Core Strategy at policy CS2 as the Plymouth Principal Urban Area) a target of 50% is set,
• At the Area Centres (Dartmouth, Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, and Totnes) and Local Centres (Chillington/Stokenham, Modbury, Salcombe and Yealmpton) and including sites allocated at their peripheries a target of 55%, and
• In the rural areas 60%.

On unallocated sites, a slide scale will be used to calculate affordable housing provision or contribution as follows:

• Capacity for 1 dwelling                      10%  (off site)
• Capacity for 2 to 5 dwellings            20%  (off site)
• Capacity for 6 to 14 dwellings          35%  (on site)
• Capacity for 15 or more dwellings   50%  (on site)

The target tenure split set out in the AH-DPD is 60% social rented and 40% intermediate housing.

For further information and an informal discussion please contact:

Affordable Housing Team
South Hams District Council
Follaton House
Plymouth Road
Totnes
Devon, TQ9 5NE

Tel:  01803 861234

Email:  affordable.housing@southhams.gov.uk

Website:  www.southhams.gov.uk