100% Affordable Housing in Cotswold District

Planning Permission was granted at planning committee last week for a 100% Affordable Housing scheme in Cotswold District.

This planning permission for our client’s site in Stow-on-the-Wold is hugely significant. The town has seen very little housing growth during the past 15 years. During the same period, only two affordable homes have been provided.

Stow-on-the-Wold is identified as a ‘principal settlement’ and, therefore one of the most sustainable locations for delivering future growth (Paragraph 6.1.9 of the Cotswold District Council Local Plan).

Unusually though, there are no housing allocations in the 2018 Local Plan for Stow-on-the-Wold. Any sites identified as potentially suitable prior to the Local Plan adoption were developed largely for retirement accommodation, where no affordable homes were provided.

Our application on behalf of client, Bayhill Property therefore represents the first opportunity to;

meet the evidenced affordable housing needs of the Town,
revitalise and broaden the demographic make up of the town,
realise a development that will deliver net zero homes, continuing the Council’s push for green exemplar developments across the district.

Sustaianble Development

The 37 dwellings (16 affordable rent, 15 shared ownership, and 6 social rent) will all be modular construction, zero carbon homes with sustainability features including air source heat pumps and solar panels.

In addition, the proposal also includes land to be gifted to the Community Land Trust.

Our consultants demonstrated that the site complied with relevant policies as an exception site. Significant pre-application engagement with planning officers and local stakeholders resulted in an officer recommendation for approval, which members supported at committee.

On voting to permit the scheme, members suggested that this site was potentially the largest exception site for affordable housing in Cotswold District Council’s history.

For more information on this successful application for 100% Affordable Housing in Cotswold District, please contact Mark Godson.