Scottish Government

Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning 2003

Application form

This application form can either be completed by hand or electronically (pdf version) on the Planning homepage at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning . Please complete all four questions. The deadline is 12 September 2003. An acknowledgement letter will be sent to the person who has completed this form.

Please provide a name and contact details of the organisation responsible for this work. If partners were involved, identify the lead organisation, and then list the other partners/bodies who had a key role.

Name of key partners (if appropriate)

Please complete the form by providing a brief summary (in no more than the space provided) of the piece of work you have entered. You must also conclude, with a key reason, as to why you think this work merits an Award.

Please tick the key criteria which relate to this entry:

You must describe in your written submission (below) how the criteria which you have ticked relates to your project.

Description of project

The project involved the development of a framework of planning policy to secure the delivery of an element of affordable housing within private development sites. Policy has been formulated at three levels:

through the statutory development plan, via supplementary planning guidance, and at the implementation level.

Since 2000, the Council has included affordable housing policies in its local plans as those plans have been reviewed. These plans have been the draft West Edinburgh, the North East Edinburgh Alteration and, most recently, the finalised Rural West Edinburgh Local Plans. The North East Edinburgh Local Plan Alteration (NEELPA) is the most advanced, and the affordable housing issue has been extensively debated at two public local inquiries relating to that plan. The Reporter's findings from the second Inquiry have proved positive, and the Council is now set to adopt the first local plan policy of this kind in Scotland.

The Council initially introduced its affordable housing policy as non-statutory supplementary guidance in November 2000. This approach reflected the urgency of responding to the proven existence of significant unmet housing needs, and the emergence of major development opportunities in the Waterfront development area, where a framework for securing an affordable element was required. The non-statutory guideline has since been amended to reflect the findings of the NEELPA Inquiry. In particular, the precise proportion of affordable housing expected is now calculated on a ward-by-ward basis, rather than by local plan area. The Guideline includes more detail than would be possible in a local plan on such matters as when the affordable contribution may be made off-site, or via a commuted sum, and on exceptions to the policy.

The innovative nature of the policy in Scotland naturally meant that many developers, development control staff and other stakeholders were inexperienced in the terminology and mechanics of social housing delivery. The Council therefore produced a set of notes on the implementation of the policy. While not in itself a policy document, these Notes assist in such matters as defining terms, indicating the likely availability of subsidy and providing contact details.

Throughout, the policy has been developed through close working between the City Development (Planning and Strategy) and Housing Departments. Regular monitoring and policy development meetings have also been held with Communities Scotland, especially regarding the Notes on Implementation. The policy itself has been the subject of extensive consultation with developers, housing associations and other interested parties. In particular, a series of meetings were held with Homes for Scotland in an effort to achieve some consensus on this controversial area of policy.

The policy itself was based on detailed statistical analysis of housing needs in the City (derived from the Housing Needs Assessment), future household projections and the Structure Plan housing analysis. This analysis is included within the papers "New Market and Affordable Housing Requirements", and "Affordable Housing Requirements by Local Area (Ward)". The methodology used has been vindicated at the NEELPA Inquiry.

Timescale (over which the project has developed)

2000: Publication (with Scottish Homes) of the Edinburgh Housing Needs Assessment, giving a statistical basis to the existence of unmet housing need in the City.

Nov 2000: Interim Affordable Housing Policy - agreed by the Planning Committee as supplementary planning guidance as an urgent policy response to the extent of unmet need and the emergence of major development opportunities at Leith and Granton Waterfronts.

Nov 00 to Mar Ol : Consultation with housebuilders, housing associations and other stakeholders. Feb 2001 : First consent granted (subject td a legal agreement) incorporating an affordable requirement (former British Gas site at Granton Waterfront).

Mar 2001: Report on consultation response to interim policy, identifying issues to be explored further with consultees.

Mar Ol to Sep 01: Further discussions with key consultees, eg Homes for Scotland. Oct 2001: Finalised policy agreed.

Oct 2002 : Revised policy agreed in light of experience operating policy, and the findings fo the North East Edinburgh Local Plan Alteration (NEELPA) Inquiry.

Winter 02-03: First affordable housing received through the policy completed. Mar 2001: NEELPA published.

Mar 2002 : NEELPA Inquiry.

Aug 2002 : NEELPA modifications, incorporating a revised affordable housing policy, reflecting the Inquiry Reporter's concerns.

Feb 2003 : Second NEELPA Inquiry. Reporter concluded that the policy (with a minor change) could proceed to adoption, and complied with SPP3.

Jun 2003: Further Modification to NEELPA agreed.

Aug 2003 : End of deposit period for Further Modification. No objections recieved. No further obstacles to adoption of local plan alteration.

Jun 2003: Notes on Implementation of the Affordable Housing Policy agreed.

Context (the problem which had to be addressed)

The affordable housing policy is the City of Edinburgh Council's key response to the critical shortage of land in the City for the development of affordable housing. Its origins lay in a number of items of information that emerged in 1999/2000. Firstly, the Council (in collaboration with Scottish Homes (as was)) carried out its first comprehensive study of housing needs in the City. This quantified the existing high level of housing need at that time. When combined with estimates for new housing demand expected to emerge between 2000 and 2010, CEC concluded that an additional 9,000 affordable homes were required by 2010. This figure fed into the Council's planning policies to meet that need, and into the City Housing Strategy.

At the same time, evidence from the Housing Land Audit demonstrated that despite strong ongoing housebuilding activity, completions in the social rented sector were declining. This confirmed anecdotal evidence from housing associations that they were being "squeezed out' of even the traditionally lower-value areas of the City, such as Gorgie and Leith, where they had previously concentrated their development activity. Housing associations could not compete with ever-increasing prices being paid for housing land.

Finally, the Council saw an affordable housing policy as helping to actively further its objectives for social inclusion agenda. As regards housing development, great benefits were perceived in achieving more balanced communities exhibiting a mix of tenures and house types. Previous patterns of social housing development characterised by mono-tenure estates had often proved socially unsuccessful, and the affordable housing policy was seen as an opportunity to achieve a more diverse social mix.

Action taken

The principal tasks that contributed to the development of the affordable housing policy are itemised below:

• Housing Needs Assessment. The Council and Scottish Homes commissioned DTZ Pieda to carry out this work in 1999. Their 2000 report provided the basic staUstical evidence of the level of unmet housing need in the City.

• The papers "New Market and Affordable Housing Requirements" and "Affordable Housing Requirements by Local Area (Ward)" contained the statistical exercise to define appropriate affordable housing requirements (as proportions) in different parts fo the City.

• The supplementary planning guideline (originally approved in interim form in November 2000) provided the detailed City-wide policy and was the subject of extensive consultation.

• Local Plan policies were pursued as opportunities arose to give a statutory basis for the policy approach.

• A case for the justification for the policy was made and debated at the North East Edinburgh Local Plan Alteration Inquiry, and in two planning appeals (to date) at Chesser Crescent and Currie Vale. In all cases, the Council has received backing from the Reporter for its approach.

• Notes were prepared to assist developers, planning staff and others in the implementaUon of the policy.

• Ongoing detailed negotiations continue on the affordable contributions of individual sites.

• Ongoing monitoring is being carried out, and is contributing to annual reviews of the policy and its effectiveness.

Results achieved

Since its initial introduction in November 2000, the provision of over 2,000 affordable homes have been secured through the affordable housing policy, as part of 18 separate development proposals.

Following some initial suspicion and uncertainty among the development community, the policy is now becoming accepted, and an increasing number of planning applications are coming forward that include an affordable component from the start. It may be concluded that this growing acceptance has resulted not only from growing familiarity with the policy's requirements over time, but also from the Council's success in defending its stance at local plan and planning appeal inquiries.

Many councils in Scotland are now considering pursuing affordable housing policies, and it is hoped that the Edinburgh policy may prove to be something of a model in this regard. It is also hoped that many of the discussions and debates at inquiry that Edinburgh has experienced will clarify and narrow the issues to be tackled by other authorities. CEC officers have been called upon frequently to speak and answer queries on their approach.

Conclusion - Why does this piece of work merit an Award?

In a climate of rising land values and limited public subsidy, it has fallen to the planning system in Edinburgh to deliver a supply of land for affordable housing. While there may be some nervousness about the planning system being used for such purposes, the policy that has resulted demonstrates how the planning system can be used positively to achieve major social benefits to people's lives, in this case in particular for the socially disadvantaged. It effectively refutes criticisms of the planning system as being too negative and overly concerned with process.

The policy addresses the social aspect of sustainable development which is often overlooked. Cities like Edinburgh cannot continue to operate effectively or efficiently if they cannot reasonably continue to house those on lower incomes. Such low paid occupations are essential to the economy of the City.

The development of the policy would have been impossible without a thorough research and understanding of the dynamics of the housing market, housing development finance, and the experience of delivering affordable housing elsewhere in the UK. It involved an exemplary example of joint working between the Council's City Development and Housing Departments, and with Communities Scotland. The quality of consultation had to be and was of the highest level due to the policy's innovation and potential impact on developers and social housing providers.

The policy represents a wholly new approach to the delivery of land for affordable housing in Scotland. While similar policies have operated in England for some years, there are significant differences north of the border that had to be addressed. These included differences in national policy, including the absence of strong or detailed Government policy guidance on the topic. The justification for the policy at inquiries therefore had to be taken further back to "first principles" than has been the case in England. The level of social rents in Scotland may be less than half that in England, which presents particular difficulties in delivering social housing for rent without subsidy.

Supporting Evidence:

Development Quality Handbook - Affordable Housing
North East Edinburgh Local Plan
North East Edinburgh Local Plan : list of modifications
Affordable Housing Requirements by ward
New market and affordable housing requirements
The delivery of affordable housing within private development sites: notes on implementation
Two examples of schemes in progress

Date
03 September 2003.