Policy Intent:

The provision of new homes within Leighton Linslade should serve the needs of local people in particular young people and older persons; this reflects the community engagement at the scoping stage of the Neighbourhood Plan as well as the view of the Steering Group.

To ascertain the evidential position in relation to what housing is required in the Neighbourhood Plan Area, a Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) was commissioned in 2024.

As a result of the HNA it is suggested that the policy focuses on three elements:

1. the adaptability and accessibly of new development to M4(2) (accessible and adaptable) and M4(3) (wheelchair) standards to accommodate residents throughout their life including in later years rather than relying on the development of care facilities. Given that Neighbourhood Plans can set their own accessibility standards this should be considered, particularly in view of the lack of evidence demonstrating suitable locations specifically for building older persons accommodation (potentially only identified in the Town Centre sites at Land South and Bridge Meadow). As the HNA did identify a need for such properties, the Neighbourhood Plan may need to consider raising the Local Plan standards for accessibility within developments in Leighton Linslade to allow for this and to enable people to love longer in their own home, rather than moving, potentially out of area into sheltered accommodation or a care home setting. The Local Plan Policy H2 sets out an expectation that 35% of new homes will be built to Category M4(2) accessibility standards and 5% Category M4(3) (wheelchair adaptable). Given the outputs of the HNA it is suggested that all new homes are M4(2) or M4(3) (mix to be set by applicant) and it is not uncommon for many development plans to now set a requirement for all new homes to be a minimum of M4(2)
2. In terms of the mix of tenures of affordable housing suggested in the report, the recommendation is the same mix as that already in the Local Plan Policy H4 (30% overall, onsite, on developments of 10+ houses with 72% affordable rented and 28% shared ownership).  However, the HNA indicates that in terms of affordable home ownership tenures, the required discount for the government’s First Homes product would need to be at a higher percentage discount that the standard set by government at 30%. If the Neighbourhood Plan set a 40% standard, as recommended by the HNA, whilst the rationale for the higher standard can be set out , it may affect the overall level of affordable housing provided on a development site as the cost of providing these homes will be higher to the developer. We would like to hear your thoughts on this – should the policy seek to achieve the higher level of overall provision, principally through rental tenures or accept a lower percentage overall of affordable but with more home ownership options in the tenure mix?
3. Finally, the size and type of housing detailed in the Housing Needs Assessment leans towards the Neighbourhood Plan considering prioritising 3-bed homes. This would be appropriate on greenfield sites, however, given the limited land availability within the town centre on brownfield sites and the desire to bring forward smaller homes and apartments for older and younger people, the policy may wish to encourage optimising the use of land in the town centre for 1 and 2-bedroom dwellings to attract younger residents and downsizers, providing them with lower cost housing options in open market as well as affordable housing tenures within this sustainable location. This is recognised in the CBC Housing Policy Technical Guidance (2023) which identifies town centre locations where constraint of site size will mean a more pragmatic approach being taken. The policy could therefore seek to set a different housing mix within town centre locations than elsewhere in the Neighbourhood Plan area.