New affordable homes rules proposed for York under attack (From York Press)

New affordable homes rules proposed for York under attack

8:34am Friday 23rd July 2010 in

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NEW affordable housing rules being proposed for York will kill off most small scale developments, critics claimed today.

Three leading figures in the city’s building industry – developer John Reeves, architect Matthew Laverack and quantity surveyor Paul Cordock – claimed rule changes will make it even harder for people wanting an affordable home.

The changes to current regulations requiring builders to ensure affordable housing is built as part of developments, which are being recommended by City of York Council’s local development framework working group, include a reduction in the threshold from 15 dwellings to only two or more.

Mr Laverack, speaking on behalf of the critics, said the changes meant small building firms would now be caught up by the “onerous requirements,” at the same time as other demands were being placed on them, such as the over-complicated Code for Sustainable homes.

He said when affordable housing policies were first introduced by the Labour government, it was recognised small housebuilding firms should be exempt because they did not have the necessary resources or economies of scale. “Thus, when the policies were first introduced there was a 25 unit threshold, with only a 25 per cent maximum contribution,” he said.

He said York changed the rules in 2005 to a 15 unit threshhold with a 50 per cent target, and claimed this had proved “disastrous”, with only five dwellings created in five years.

“Now we have a future to look forward to where even the small house-building operations will be killed off altogether.”

Coun Steve Galloway, chairman of the working group, said the new criteria, which would be reported to the Executive in the autumn and might be adopted as interim planning guidance by the Planning Committee, would vary in relation to the current economic climate.

He said a majority of residents in a consultation had supported a change to a more flexible policy, including a requirement for a contribution towards affordable housing from smaller developments, but at a lower percentage figure.

“Off site provision and cash payments in lieu of actual homes will be acceptable options for developers in the future.”