Strategic Market Housing Assessments
Purpose
Strategic Housing Market Assessments (SHMA's)are a new way of assessing housing markets and housing need, initiated by the Government in November 2006. There are a number of required core outputs from an SHMA, which include:
- Estimates of current dwellings in terms of size, type, condition, tenure
- Analysis of past and current housing market trends, and key drivers underpinning the housing market
- Estimate of current number of households in housing need
- Estimate of future households requiring market and affordable housing
- Estimate of the sizes of housing required
- Estimate of household groups who have particular housing requirements, for example gypsies and travellers.
PPS3: Housing (November 2006) states that: "In Local Development Documents, Local Planning Authorities should: Set out the range of circumstances in which affordable housing will be required. The national indicative minimum site size threshold is 15 dwellings. However, Local Planning Authorities can set lower minimum thresholds, where viable and practicable, including in rural areas. This could include setting different proportions of affordable housing to be sought for a series of site-size thresholds over the plan area. Local Planning Authorities will need to undertake an informed assessment of the economic viability of any thresholds and proportions of affordable housing proposed, including their likely impact upon overall levels of housing delivery and creating mixed communities. (Para 29)"
Bournemouth and Poole Affordable Housing and Section 106 Viability Analysis
The aim of this viability study (which can be viewed to your right) was to provide Bournemouth and Poole councils with the evidence to develop policies to increase the delivery of affordable housing in the two boroughs. Within this context, the brief sets out the following objectives for the study:
- To show how Bournemouth Borough Council / Borough of Poole can increase the delivery of affordable housing units, either on or off-site;
- Evaluation of the financial viability of projected housing development sites, with regard to the provision of affordable housing (on or off-site/commuted sums) and other developer contributions;
- To provide a model that can be used to assess levels of financial contributions that can be achieved from future developments.
This report covers the first two of these objectives. Three Dragons is separately developing a model for the two boroughs to use in future assessments of the economics of scheme development.
The current study focuses on the two main levers available to local planning authorities who wish to increase the supply of affordable housing delivered through the planning system. The two levers are the percentage of affordable housing sought on mixed tenure sites and the size of site from above which affordable housing is sought (the site size threshold). National planning policy, set out in PPS3 makes clear that local authorities, in setting policies for site size thresholds and the percentage of affordable housing sought, must consider development economics and should not promote policies which would make development unviable.
In this study we have not been asked to consider the need for affordable housing in the two boroughs. We have worked on the basis that need for affordable housing is considerable and that it is appropriate for the two councils to set a policy framework which maximises affordable housing - consistent with practical development constraints, including viability, and the development of mixed communities.
Distribution
To view all documents associated with the Strategic Market Housing Assessments please follow the link here. The Evidence Base can be viewed here
Strategic Planning
Civic Centre, Poole
BH15 2RU
Tel: 01202 633360
Directgov