Policy information sourced from Wandsworth Core Strategy

IS 5 Achieving a mix of housing including affordable housing

New housing developments should include a mix of types and sizes of dwellings to reflect the varying needs in the borough, having regard to the particular location and nature of the individual sites concerned.

Existing small family sized houses and flats with gardens will be protected from conversion into non-family flats. Detailed policies on the protection of family-sized housing and the circumstances where conversion to flats is permissible are set out in the Development Management Policies Document. Proposals to merge flats in order to reinstate family houses will generally be supported.

Taking account of the mix of units in the Housing Trajectory, the Council will seek the maximum provision of affordable housing with a target of at least 4,402 new affordable dwellings to be delivered between 2015/16 and 2029/30 from conventional sources, of which 2,269 should be social/affordable rent units and 2,133 intermediate units as detailed in Table 4.7.

On new developments a mix of intermediate (40%) and social/affordable rented (60%) accommodation will be sought. Significant levels of family accommodation will be sought in appropriate locations.

The Council will seek the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing on individual private residential and mixed use schemes of ten or more units (gross), having regard to the above targets, the need to encourage rather than restrain residential development and the individual circumstances of the site (for sites with less than 10 units please refer to DMPD Policy DMH8). On individual sites outside Nine Elms a proportion of at least 33% of homes should be affordable, in Nine Elms at least 15% should be affordable subject to viability assessment. The Council requires economic viability assessments which take into account individual site costs, the availability of public subsidy, other scheme requirements and economic viability, to be submitted with all relevant planning applications where less than 50% affordable housing is proposed or where the proportion of social/affordable rented and intermediate housing is not in accordance with Policy IS5c. Details of the Council’s approach to viability assessments are set out in its Planning Obligations SPD. Where re-development involving the loss of housing is proposed, the Council will seek to ensure replacement housing provision at existing or higher densities where appropriate.

Shared ownership accommodation should be priced so that a significant majority of the units can be purchased by households with low to medium household incomes within a range to be determined by the Council which will be updated annually to reflect changes in incomes and house prices, with upper income thresholds being determined with reference to any revised figures in the London Plan Annual Monitoring Report.

The Council supports the development of private rented sector housing and schemes offering a mixture of private and intermediate rented housing aimed at working households. Where developers are willing to enter into legal agreements securing such housing for local needs or lower to middle income households with security of tenure, any impacts on the market value of such developments will be taken into account in viability assessments.

90% of new dwellings provided should meet Building Regulation requirement M4(2) ‘accessible and adaptable dwellings’; 10% of new homes provided should meet Building Regulation requirement M4(3) ‘wheelchair user dwellings’, in accordance with the standards set out in the Mayor’s Minor Alterations to the London Plan.

The existing gypsy and traveller site at Trewint Street will be protected. The Council will continue to review the accommodation needs of gypsies, travellers and travelling showpeople. Should a need arise during the local plan period, the Council will identify a new site(s) for additional permanent facilities within the borough to meet the long-term needs of gypsies and travellers or travelling showpeople in a separate local plan document. Any proposals for new gypsy and traveller sites will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • Close proximity to a main road and safe access to the site with adequate space on site to allow for the manoeuvring of vehicles.
  • Appropriate landscaping and planting to address impact on amenity and enable integration of the site with the surrounding environment.
  • Appropriate facilities must be provided on-site including water and waste disposal.
  • Reasonable access to local shops and other community facilities in particular, schools and health care. v. The scale of the site is in keeping with local context and character.
  • The need to avoid areas at high risk from flooding, including functional floodplains.
  • The extent to which any use on the site can contribute to sustainability where there are no unacceptable adverse impacts on neighbouring residents.

The Council will consider favourably proposals to meet the needs of service families to meet specific needs identified in any updated London Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) or Wandsworth SHMA.

To support this policy, detailed policies on: the protection of housing and housing land; the protection of family-sized housing from conversions; housing mix in new developments; the implementation of affordable housing; and specialised forms of housing, are set out in the Development Management Policies Document with detailed guidance and standards set out in the Mayor’s Housing SPG and in the Council’s Housing SPD . Further details of the requirements in relation to affordable housing, including details of viability assessments, are set out in the Council’s Planning Obligations SPD.

In seeking to maintain a continued housing supply and to promote deliverability, a degree of flexibility in the type and mix of housing sought may be appropriate, having regard to the financial viability of development, the housing market over the plan period, the need to maximise the delivery of affordable housing and meeting the needs of different groups identified in the present and future SHMAs.

For more information please see the Wandsworth Core Strategy