Object
Solihull Local Plan (Draft Submission) 2020
Representation ID: 14167
Received: 14/12/2020
Respondent: Hampton Road Developments Ltd
Agent: Savills
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? Yes
Object to the onerous approach being applied to the delivery of custom and self-build housing. Whilst it may widen housing choice, on large scale allocations there is a risk that the delivery of housing could be slowed.
Having reference to the PPG there is no requirement for self or custom build to be provided as part of larger allocated sites.
Applying the 5% requirement leads to potentially multiple separate contracts that would need to be agreed with interested parties.
Whilst the Self Build register may provide an indication of the level of interest, this needs to be analysed further to uncover the specific requirements of respondents. Where suitably evidenced, specific sites could be allocated for self-build and/or custom housebuilding.
The Council should provide a robust assessment of demand including an assessment and review of data held on the Council’s self-build register. The register may provide an indication of the level of interest, but this needs to be analysed at a deeper level to uncover the specific requirements of respondents. Without this exercise having been undertaken and supporting the Council’s conclusions, the policy is not justified.
The policy should be amended to allow for the provision of such plots to be left to the discretion of the developer based on market trends, which are liable to change over the plan period. On larger sites we consider this requirement should be left to the developer’s discretion. This would ensure that the policy is suitably justified.
See attached documents.