Policy information sourced from the Bexley Local Plan

SP2: Meeting Bexley’s housing requirements

The Council’s commitments for mixed and balanced communities

  1. The Council will seek to meet the Mayor’s 10-year (2019-2029) housing target for Bexley of 6,850 (net) new homes and, subject to any review of the London Plan, the Council will seek to provide for at least 6,165 (net) new homes for the remainder of the plan period between 2030 and 2038. A greater number of homes will be supported, subject to compliance with all relevant Development Plan policies.
  2. In this context, and reflecting local evidence for housing, it is the Council’s aspiration to achieve its strategic target of 50% affordable housing as a proportion of all qualifying provision across the borough over the plan period, by application of the threshold approach set out in policy DP1. This should be achieved with an overall tenure mix of 70% low cost rented and 30% intermediate housing products and with a mix of housing types and sizes identified in the Bexley Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) and set out in Table 3.
  3. The Council will seek to accommodate the specific needs of particular groups of residents. The Bexley SHMA, the Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA), and the Council’s Selfbuild and Custom Housebuilding Register identify demand for the following housing numbers over the plan period:
    • 55 units per annum of specialist older person accommodation (falling within use class C3);
    • 26 units per annum of residential care accommodation (falling within use class C2);
    • 3.6 gypsy and traveller pitches (detailed in Table 4) over the plan period based on a cultural definition of need; and d. 24 self-build homes per annum (based on the average number of new entries on the Council’s self-build register each year).
  4. In order to create high-quality, safe and well-connected lifetime communities, which offer a choice of living styles that appeals across generations, new homes should be provided that are available to households across a range of incomes and sizes. To achieve this, the Council will:
    • seek to deliver a balance of family and other types and sizes of housing within affordable and market housing schemes, as identified in the Bexley SHMA;
    • work closely with registered providers to support the development of new homes and explore the potential for intensification of existing social housing land;
    • encourage sensitive residential intensification within the borough’s identified Sustainable Development Locations, and permit it outside of these locations subject to part 4 of policy SP1; and
    • monitor the demand for self-build or custom build accommodation in the borough and plan accordingly.

Housing development on small sites

5. The Council recognises that the London Plan sets a significant proportion of Bexley’s housing requirement to be met through the development of sites smaller than 0.25 hectares in size. Therefore, the Council will encourage proposals for appropriate development of small sites within the borough’s identified Sustainable Development Locations, and permit them outside of these locations subject to part 4 of policy SP1.

For more information please see the Bexley Local Plan