Bedford Borough Local Plan 2040 Plan for Submission

6.0 Development management policies

6.1 This section contains new or replacement development management policies. Policies that are replaced are listed in Appendix 1.

6.2 The Council's Local Housing Needs Assessment (LHNA) Addendum (April 2022) establishes the standard method housing requirement for housing in Bedford for the period 2020–2040 to be 27,100. This includes a need for affordable housing of 6881 dwellings over the same period equivalent to an average of 344 dwellings per year.

6.3 Affordable housing as defined by the NPPF 2021 comprises housing for sale or rent, for those whose needs are not met by the market (including housing that provides a subsidised route to home ownership and / or is for essential local workers) which accords with the NPPF definitions of affordable housing for rent, starter homes, discounted market sales housing and other affordable routes to home ownership.

6.4 First Homes are now the Government's preferred discounted market tenure and the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) advises that they should account for at least 25% of all affordable homes delivered by developers through section 106 planning obligations and that policies for First Homes should reflect this requirement.

(1) 6.5 First Homes are defined in the PPG as discounted market sale units which must be discounted by a minimum 30% against the market value, are sold to persons meeting specific eligibility criteria, are restricted on their title to ensure the discount is passed on and must be sold after discount at a price no higher than £250,000.

6.6 In the context of this national definition Local Authorities may set an appropriate discount against market value in their area and may set local eligibility criteria. The PPG also makes provision for the development of First Homes exception sites (on land which is not already allocated for housing). See Policy DM4 below.

6.7 In order to ensure that local people are given priority in accessing First Homes in the borough the following eligibility criteria will be applied:

(1) 6.8 The LHNA analyses income levels in relation to housing costs. On the assumption that all those who can afford social rent without housing benefit could afford shared ownership or First Homes at a 30% discount and that 35% of household income is assigned to housing costs there is a need for 83.3% of the affordable housing provided to be affordable rent, 6.4% to be provided as shared ownership and 10.3% as First Homes.

6.9 The LHNA addendum demonstrates that in order to meet the requirement for 25% of the homes to be First Homes it will be necessary for 30% of homes to be affordable housing; with 75% as affordable rent and 25% as First Homes at a 50% discount.

6.10 The Council has undertaken a plan-wide viability study to test the ability of a range of housing scheme types likely to come forward in the borough to deliver affordable housing. The study found that with an affordable housing tenure split of 75% affordable rent and 25% First Homes at a 50% discount, 30% affordable housing remains a reasonable target.

(2) 6.11 In cases where the affordable housing quantum proposed is less than 30% or a tenure split is proposed which provides less than 75% of the affordable housing as affordable rented accommodation the Council will expect the application to be accompanied by a viability appraisal which evidences this to the Council's satisfaction. The verification of viability appraisals will be undertaken by the Council at the applicant's cost. Where affordable housing provision is approved at a level below the policy requirement, it will be subject to a review mechanism.

(1) 6.12 The maximum affordable rent that can be charged is 80% of the market rent. Many households who require affordable housing can only afford a rent at this level with assistance from housing benefit. The Council does not propose a general reduction on this percentage and benefit regulations change from time to time, but consideration will be given to the access to benefit that will be available at the time that an application is considered.

(1) 6.13 On the basis of the Government's preference for First Homes and the findings of the Council's LHNA as explained in paragraph 6.9 above, shared ownership will not form part of the preferred tenure mix for section 106 sites. Shared ownership may however come forward in other contexts and should be offered on the basis of a range of initial share purchases from 10% - 80%.

6.14 Affordable housing will be required on sites of ten or more dwellings, or 0.5 hectares or more. In all cases, in determining whether the threshold has been met, the Council will take account of the net number of additional dwellings which are to be built.

(1) 6.15 Where a commuted sum is deemed to be acceptable, more information is given in Appendix 4.

6.16 The Council wants to ensure that development is policy compliant and maximises public benefits in line with the policies of the development plan. This includes the provision of affordable housing in line with Policy DM1(S).

6.17 The NPPF indicates that it is the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate whether particular circumstances justify the need for a viability assessment at application stage in order to deviate from policy requirements. Where there is clear viability evidence to do so, Policy DM1(S) allows the Council to consider granting permission for schemes which provide less than 30% affordable housing.

6.18 Where this is the case, national planning guidance recognises the potential for changes in viability post permission being granted and allows for the review of scheme viability to ensure that divergence from policy compliance is minimised over time. This means that improvements in scheme viability between the point at which the original viability appraisal was undertaken and viability established at a later date(s) can result in an enhanced affordable housing contribution compared to that which was considered viable at the point that permission was granted.

6.19 Guidance indicates that plans should set out circumstances where review mechanisms may be appropriate, as well as clear processes and terms of engagement regarding how and when viability will be reassessed.

6.20 To ensure that affordable housing contributions are maximised over time, the Council will require a viability review, secured through a S106 agreement, in all cases where reduced affordable housing provisions have been agreed on viability grounds (Policy DM2).

6.21 The Council will generally seek a mid-stage viability review because at this point, actual costs and sales values are likely to be quantifiable and a revised assessment can confidently be made.

6.22 However, it may be that there is justification for the review taking place at a different point. For example, where the site is large-scale, it involves phased development and delivery will occur across different stages in an economic cycle, it may be appropriate to require more than one viability review. Where this this is the case the approach will be individually negotiated and detailed in the legal agreement.

6.23 Where the review(s) evidence that additional affordable housing is viable, the Council's preference is for this to be provided on site. Where this is considered inappropriate the Council will expect the payment of an affordable housing commuted sum in lieu.

6.24 At the point of review, applicants will be required to submit an updated viability assessment consistent with the format submitted at planning application stage, along with any supplementary information / evidence that the Council requires. The Council's costs associated with commissioning independent assessment of these reviews will be met by the applicant. The approach should be agreed with the Council prior to submission of an updated viability assessment.

6.25 The implementation of a viability review cannot result in the scheme providing a reduced level of planning obligations from that of the originally permitted scheme. It is a means to ensure full, or fuller, policy compliance over time, optimising the benefits from contributions to affordable housing.

6.26 Viability appraisals will be made publically available.

(1) 6.27 The growth in the number of older persons' households is a key feature in the population and household change which is expected to occur in the period to 2040. During the Local Plan period almost two fifths (39 %) of the overall population growth implied by the Standard Method is projected to be aged 65, almost a quarter of which are projected to be over 75. This is particularly important when establishing the types of housing required and the need for housing specifically for older people.

6.28 The LHNA Addendum found that, considering the increase in households from 2020 to 2040, half of this household growth is likely to have household representatives aged 65 or over. Over two thirds (68%) of this group (34% of the overall household growth) are likely to have household representatives of 75 or over. Given this context, the maximum need of around 12,600 dwellings for adapted housing in the plan period supports the need for at least 47% of all dwellings to meet Category 2 requirements, providing that this does not compromise viability.

6.29 Around 1-in-30 households in England (3.3%) have at least one wheelchair user, although the rate is notably higher for households living in affordable housing (7.1%). The rates are also higher for older households and, given that the number of older person households is likely to increase over the period to 2040, the proportion of households needing wheelchair housing in future is also likely to be higher.

6.30 The LHNA Addendum found that the amount of wheelchair adapted housing likely to be needed in Bedford Borough is likely to increase by approximately 1,190 over the period, equivalent to around 4.4% of the overall Local Housing Need. This comprises around 760 market dwellings (4.0% of the market Local Housing Need) and around 390 affordable dwellings (6.0% of the affordable Local Housing Need). The evidence therefore supports the need for 4% of market and 6% of affordable housing to meet Category 3 requirements.

6.31 This approach is consistent with the NPPG advice at Paragraph 9^[16] which states that planning policies for housing can set out the proportion of new dwellings which will be delivered to the various M4 standards. Part M of the Building Regulations sets a distinction between wheelchair accessible (a home readily useable by a wheelchair user at the point of completion) and wheelchair adaptable (a home that can be easily adapted to meet the needs of a household including wheelchair users) dwellings. Wheelchair accessible homes will only be required where the Council is responsible for nominating a person to live in the dwelling.

6.32 Around 35% of the growth in households during the Plan period comprises households aged 75 or over. It is likely that many of these households would also be identified as needing specialist housing for older persons. The analysis of the needs of older people identified a need for almost 5,000 specialist older person housing units for households aged 75 or over, whilst the analysis of disability and mobility housing needs identifies an increase in need of around 720 wheelchair adapted dwellings for households in the same age group.

6.33 Whilst not all households aged 75 or over needing wheelchair adapted housing will live in specialist older person housing, at any point in time it is likely that up to a third of those living in specialist housing may need wheelchair adapted homes. However, it is important to recognise that as individual household circumstances change, it is likely that some households will start using a wheelchair whilst living in specialist housing if their health deteriorates. On this basis, a higher proportion of specialist older person housing units will need to be wheelchair adapted. The evidence in the LHNA supports the need for a target for all specialist housing for older people to meet Category 3 requirements.

6.34 First Homes Exception Sites are a potential option for developers wishing to build affordable homes on sites beyond the borough's existing built up areas where certain planning constraints may make approval of an open market housing scheme less likely. However, they should not be viewed as an alternative to rural exception housing defined in the Local Plan 2030 Policy 67 which provides for the delivery of housing to meet specific local needs in the rural area. Sites should be adjacent to and proportionate in size to the settlement to which they relate. Proportionality will be assessed in relation to the scale of the proposal and its impact on the character of the settlement.

6.35 To ensure applicants take account of Policy DM4 (ii), where it is proposed that a scheme requires market housing to be included to make an exception site viable, submission of a development appraisal will be required to demonstrate that this is the case.

6.36 External consultants will be appointed at the applicant's cost to provide an independent assessment of the scheme's viability.

6.37 Policy DM4 (iii) is in line with PPG, which allows the proportion of affordable housing on a First Homes exception site to be altered to include small quantities of other affordable housing products. The evidence that applicants will be required to provide will need to be in the form of a Local Housing Needs Assessment, local authority Housing Register, or other sufficiently robust local evidence.

(3) 6.38 The Self-build & Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 introduced the concept of an individual's Right to Build a home and the requirement on Local Authorities to keep a register of both individuals and associations who are seeking to do so. It has since been amended by the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

6.39 Further regulations^[17] require Local Authorities to grant sufficient planning permissions for self-build and custom housebuilding plots to meet annual register-evidenced demand.

6.40 Councils are required to have regard to the register when carrying out their functions relating to planning, housing, the disposal of the authority's land and regeneration.

6.41 Self-build and custom housebuilding is defined in the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 as:

6.42 Self-build is where individuals, or associations of individuals, including those in community-led projects, are directly responsible for the design and construction of their own homes. These may be traditional DIY self-build homes where the eventual occupiers carry out all or much of the project management, construction and finish; or, increasingly, where a self-builder commissions all or much of the work, employing others to carry out the actual build for them.

6.43 Custom build homes are where developers, builders or industry specialist 'home-builders' work with individuals or associations to deliver finished or shell homes to a pre-agreed bespoke design standards and quality of finish. The developer may provide a plot, manage the construction and arrange the finance for the new home as a package. Whilst this is therefore more of a hands-off approach for the final occupier, the homes will still be tailored from initial inception to match an individual's requirements, within certain agreed parameters.

6.44 Whether self or custom-build, the instigators, funders or commissioners of the work must be the occupiers of the dwelling.

6.45 The Council's Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register is divided into two parts:

6.46 Neighbourhood Plans may also allocate sites for self-build and / or custom housebuilding plots and where this is so, developers will be required to have regard to relevant policies and marketing requirements.

6.47 The Council has a duty to provide serviced plots to meet the demand on Part 1 of its Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register but will take into account the demand shown by both parts of the register in considering planning applications. To help to do this, the Council will require qualifying developments to make available serviced plots specifically to provide self-build and custom housebuilding opportunities. The number of serviced plots to be made available will be determined by the capacity of the site.

6.48 The policy sets out marketing requirements for advertising the availability of self-build and custom housebuilding plots. These broad requirements differ depending on the number of dwellings proposed for a site. On sites of 49 dwellings or fewer, the timetable for marketing plots will generally be shorter. This is due to the fact that smaller sites will build out faster, meaning there is a greater possibility that lengthier marketing would delay the delivery of dwellings.

6.49 Whilst the nature of some proposals, for example high density sites of predominantly apartments or conversions of existing buildings, might mean individual self-build plots may not be available or practical, such dwellings do provide opportunities for custom build. The Council therefore expects that all qualifying sites will meet the requirements of Policy DM5.

6.50 As an example, a planning application submitted for 80 dwellings would be required to provide 30% affordable housing, which means that 24 of the plots on the site would be affordable housing. 56 plots would therefore be for private dwellings and subject to providing self-build plots. Using the scale set in the policy below, a site providing 56 private dwellings would be required to provide five self-build / custom housebuilding plots.

6.51 The quality of buildings and places, and how they integrate with the natural environment, have been shown to affect how people interact with them. Good quality development can create environments which promote wellbeing and happiness, as well as provide functional, well-built places.

(3) 6.52 The Bedford Borough Local Plan 2030 has a set of design policies requiring that development proposals fully consider design issues. The following documents are also available and give guidance on different aspects of design:

6.53 Chapter 12 of the NPPF, "Achieving well-designed places", supports good design and the creation of high quality places. It encourages plans to set out a clear vision and expectations on design quality in the local area.

6.54 The government has set out appropriate nationally described space standards for new developments. These space standards are predicated on the number of bedrooms and the number of people each new dwelling is intended to cater for.

6.55 For example, a single bedroom, one-storey dwelling for one person should be a minimum of 37m²; and a single bedroom, one-storey dwelling for two people should be a minimum of 50m².

6.56 These standards have recently become mandatory for all new dwellings developed under permitted development rights^[18]. This is in recognition of the fact that many have fallen below these standards in the past and created inappropriately sized homes. To be consistent with this approach the Council will expect all new dwellings (including newly formed dwellings through conversion) to conform with nationally described space standards.

6.57 Further information can be found at: Nationally_Described_Space_Standard____Final_Web_version.pdf. Separate Regulations apply to sleeping accommodation floor areas in licenced HMOs.^[19]

(1) 6.58 Royal Assent for the Environment Bill was granted on 9 November 2021, with the Statutory Instruments setting out the environmental targets to be laid before parliament in 2022. The biodiversity net gain requirements are not likely to take effect until 2023, two years after Royal Assent. For the Local Plan 2040 this means that we will need to monitor progress and may need to amend policies during the plan's examination.

6.59 Due to the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union, there is now no relevance to previous references to European designated sites or Natura 2000 sites. To assist with the interpretation of current local plan policies, any references to Natura 2000 sites should now be read as referring to 'the new national site network'.

(2) 6.60 The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Biodiversity Metric was first introduced in 2012 and the third version was published in July 2021. The metric is a calculator that is used to measure the biodiversity losses and gains that will result from development. It is designed as a template to which applicants can input their baseline and development information, and it will then produce a figure for net biodiversity gain. The Environment Act 2021 requires a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain, however it has not become law at this stage.

(1) 6.61 Natural Capital is defined in the government's 25 Year Environment Plan as "the sum of our ecosystems, species, freshwater, land, soils, minerals, our air and our seas. These are all elements of nature that either directly or indirectly bring value to people and the country at large. They do this in many ways but chiefly by providing us with food, clean air and water, wildlife, energy, wood, recreation and protection from hazards". The 25-Year Environment Plan introduced the concept of embedding an 'environmental net gain' principle for development, and the concept of expanding net gain approaches used for biodiversity to include wider natural capital benefits.

6.62 In line with the NPPF, biodiversity net gain was a concept first introduced in planning policy in Bedford in the Local Plan 2030. However, since the plan was adopted, the environmental agenda has moved on and it is now suggested we should go further than biodiversity net gain and adopt an environmental net gain approach in planning and development. The Local Plan 2040 provides an opportunity to update our policy. Environmental net gain is defined as:

6.63 HM Treasury's Green Book further describes ecosystem services as: "Stocks of natural capital provide flows of environmental or 'ecosystem' services over time. These services, often in combination with other forms of capital (human, produced and social) produce a wide range of benefits. These include use values that involve interaction with the resource and which can have a market value (food, timber, water) or non-market value (such as recreation, landscape amenity and health and wellbeing). They also include non-use values, such as the value people place on the existence of particular habitats or species."

6.64 Environmental net gain builds upon the biodiversity net gain principle, but goes further to include a focus on natural capital assets and the associated benefits such as flood protection, improved water and air quality that can be achieved from developments.

6.65 The Council has been working with DEFRA as part of the Ox-Cam Arc Local Natural Capital Plan project which looked at how a natural capital approach can be implemented and incorporated into planning policy across the Arc; the documents are available to view on the website – https://www.oxcamlncp.org/. The Ecosystem Services Baseline and Comparison report was completed in March 2021. The information that has been mapped is at a strategic scale across the Arc area. A Natural Capital Accounting Tool has also been produced.

6.66 In order to obtain information at a more local level, The Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership has commissioned natural capital and ecosystem services opportunity mapping for Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Borough Councils. This work will also inform Local Nature Recovery Strategies which are a requirement of the Environment Act. Further detail is set out in the evidence base document, 'Bedford Borough Natural Capital Assessment Report'. We have incorporated consideration of the combined opportunities into our site assessment methodology.

6.67 Other work by the Arc Environment Working Group has led to the production of Arc-wide environment principles which in due course will lead to the development of an Arc Environment Strategy. The draft principles, support the concept of net environmental gain and commit partners to working with government to develop a net environment gain metric for use within the Arc. The aim is to put in place technical groups to assess net gain propositions on behalf of Local Planning Authorities and provide planning committees with independent advice.

6.68 Policy 75 of Local Plan 2030 encouraged new employment development that needs to be in the countryside in order to support the rural economy. Although the policy has only recently been adopted, the opportunity has been taken to review the policy to provide greater clarity around the intentions of the policy and make it more effective in its implementation.

(1) 6.69 Keeping and riding horses can help provide new opportunities for employment in rural areas. However, high standards of design and construction for the necessary buildings are required to ensure there is no adverse impact on the countryside. A high standard of maintenance is also essential to prevent a harmful impact on the environment.

(2) 6.70 Non-designated heritage assets are buildings, monuments, sites, places, areas or landscapes identified as having a degree of heritage significance meriting consideration in planning decisions, but which do not meet the criteria for designated heritage assets. These places derive significance through their archaeological, historic, architectural and artistic interest. They also often make an important contribution to local distinctiveness.

6.71 The Council commissioned a Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy to assess the existing provision of, and future demand for, outdoor sports facilities. The document was prepared by consultants in accordance with Sport England guidance and an Action Plan was produced to help inform and guide future outdoor sports development in the borough. The outputs from the strategy feed into the Sport England Playing Pitch Calculator which should be used to determine the amount of space required for future pitch sports in association with new development and, where provision on site is not possible or preferred, monetary contributions for the provision or enhancement of facilities off-site.

(1) 6.72 The Playing Pitch and Outdoor Sport Strategy looked at the following sports:

6.73 The Sport England Playing Pitch Calculator covers football, rugby union, rugby league, hockey and cricket. Tennis and outdoor lawn bowls are not included; the priority is to improve existing tennis and bowls facilities in the borough to increase usage.

(2) 6.74 As a result of this work, there is a need to partially update existing Policy AD28 (Provision of Open Space in New Developments). Standards relating to outdoor sports space are replaced by the following policy. Other open space standards in Policy AD28 have been reviewed and do not need to change.

6.75 When planning tall buildings, it is important to understand the nature of the areas around them, and the impact they would have on heritage assets and historic character of places: the very things that make places distinctive and that people cherish. Tall buildings will generally be located in the town centre. Tall buildings can make a positive contribution to the skyline but in some cases they can also have a lasting adverse impact due to an unsuitable location, poor design, construction or management. Defining what a tall building is depends on the context in which it would be located, and is a building which 'breaks the skyline' and is significantly taller than the prevailing heights of buildings in the area. The Council will prepare an SPD to assist with the application of this policy.

^[16] ID: 63-009-20190626 updated on 26 June 2019

^[17] Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations 2016 and the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding (Time for Compliance and fees) Regulations 2016

^[18] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1243/made

^[19] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/616/made?view=plain