Overview
East Cambridgeshire District Council is supporting community-led development through its Local Plan, drafted in 2013 and formally adopted in April 2015. A key element of the Plan deals with its policy towards affordable homes development outside designated village boundaries.
A more detailed Supplementary Planning Document, approved by the Council in February 2016, includes other statements of policy in support of community-led schemes.
The District Council is generally supportive of community-led development…the affordable housing elements may be permitted outside development envelopes as an exception to normal policies of control where:
- The District Council is satisfied that (i) the scheme was initiated by a legitimate local community group, such as a Parish Council or Community Land Trust and (ii) the scheme has general community support, with evidence of meaningful public engagement
- It can be demonstrated that the scheme will be well managed and financially viable over the long term and that any benefits provided by the scheme can be retained by the local community in perpetuity
- An element of open market housing on the site will only be acceptable where it is demonstrated that it is essential to enable delivery of the affordable housing or other community benefits on the site
Useful links
More information on East Cambridgeshire District Council’s Local Plan can be found here.
And on the relevant Supplementary Planning Document here.
Published in March 2018
