The granting of planning permission usually depends on:
• The site being close to the development boundary of the village.
• General local support for the proposal.
• Evidence of local need.
• Long term mechanisms to limit occupancy to local people and avoid Right to Buy.
• Appropriate scale of development (i.e. small and tailored to needs).
A Planning Agreement (under s106 of 1990 Town & Country Planning Act) gives effect to all the restrictions and prevents the site from being used for open market development. It is an agreement between the local authority and the developer, which passes with the land.
Because of the restrictions and the requirement that the houses are affordable by those identified in the evidence of need, the value of such sites is a small multiple of current use (generally agricultural) value.
The low site cost then compensates for the relatively high costs of low density development on difficult rural sites, using suitable materials.
The s106 agreement serves to reassure landowners, parish councils and local
residents that their support for a scheme will not be abused.
