Planning policy should be adapted to local needs, says government adviser

A ‘one-size-fits-all’ planning policy will not meet the preferences of a wide range of housing consumers or promote affordability, the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit said this week.

In a report The Implications of Housing Type/Size Mix and Density for the Affordability and Viability of New Housing Supply, the unit found that viability varied widely across ten case study local areas and between locations within each city. There were also marked differences in the affordability of market housing developed on new build sites across market areas.

The NHPAU has developed a model which can estimate the sales value of different mixes – i.e. detached, semi-detached, terraced or flats – and densities of homes on particular sites. The sales prices can then be compared with the prices of existing homes in the area and local incomes to assess affordability for first time buyers. The data can also be compared with building cost estimates, showing how profitable different mixes might be.

The Unit said that what is most profitable and most affordable is rarely the same, and that both vary considerably both between and within cities.

NHPAU chief executive Neil McDonald said: “The Unit has long maintained that building the right type of homes in the right places is crucial to improving affordability. This work provides further evidence of this and of the tensions between what is most profitable for the developer and what may be best for the local community. It should be studied carefully by those responsible for developing housing strategies and local plans.”