Carlisle District Local Plan.indd - Carlisle City Council

Carlisle District Local Plan 2001 - 2016 Revised Redeposit draftThe delivery of affordable housing will be dependent upon the situation at the time of aplanning application to provide the detailed level. In addition a Supplementary PlanningDocument on affordable housing will be produced to complement and support this policy.This will include clear guidance on the process and formula to determine the contribution tobe made through commuted sums and the level of provision required.POLICY H6 Rural Exception SitesProposals for residential development may be permitted in locations where suchdevelopment would not usually be permitted, provided the following conditions are met:1. the proposal is for low cost affordable housing to meet an identified need; and2. the proposal is supported by an S106 agreement which will satisfy therequirement that once built the residential units are retained for the benefit ofsuccessive as well as initial occupiers; and3. the proposal is well related to the settlement were the need has been identifiedand respects the local landscape character.5.37 PPG 3 advises that in appropriate circumstances Local Planning Authorities should considerthe release of land within or adjoining existing villages for housing which would notnormally be allocated or given planning permission in order to provide affordable housingfor local needs in perpetuity. The use of vacant rural buildings, within settlements, foraffordable housing may also be considered acceptable where they can meet the criteriaset out above. This is provided that need can be demonstrated, that local need can not beaccommodated in any other way and that long term arrangements can be made to reservethe housing for local people.5.38 Since planning conditions can not normally be used to impose restrictions on tenure oroccupancy, the City Council must be satisfied that adequate arrangements have been madeto ensure that houses built on such sites remain available for low cost housing and do notfind their way onto the open market. Before the City Council is prepared to consider anapplication under this policy, specific evidence will have to be provided, in the form of anup-to-date local survey, to demonstrate the particular need for low cost housing in the area.Such surveys can be carried out by Parish Councils and must indicate the particular sector(s)of the market where need is apparent. Cumbria Rural Housing Trust undertakes many ofthese surveys on behalf of Carlisle City Council.5.39 Examples of such need are as follows:1. existing residents needing separate accommodation in the area (e.g. couples living insingle person lodgings, people needing to leave tied accommodation, overcrowdedhouseholds);2. people whose work provides important services and who need to live closer to thelocal community;3. people who are not resident locally but have long-standing links with the localcommunity and wish to return (e.g. elderly persons requiring family support);4. people with a job offer who can not take up the offer because of lack of affordablehousing.5.40 In each case, the particular site put forward will be carefully examined. Although proposalsof this nature will be viewed more flexibly and sites considered which would otherwise not80 September 2006