Our Council will promote and deliver investment in new affordable housing, a key function set out in the Local Housing Strategy.

Affordable housing is broadly defined as housing of a reasonable quality that is affordable to people on modest incomes. The types of housing that are included in this definition are:

• Social rent
• Mid market rent
• Subsidised low cost sale
• Shared ownership
• Shared equity
• Entry level housing for sale
• Shared equity

(Source - Planning Advice Note 2/2010: Affordable Housing and Housing Land Audits)

Background

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a statutory duty on Local Authorities to prepare a Local Housing Strategy supported by an assessment of housing need and demand.

The 2011-2016 Dumfries and Galloway Local Housing Strategy, which sets out how the Council will promote and deliver investment in new affordable housing, was agreed by the Council's Housing Sub-Committee on 30 June 2011.

The Council also undertook a Housing Needs and Demand Assessment during 2009 which showed there will be an increasing shortfall in affordable housing provision over time without intervention in the region's housing system.

Further information on this work is available from the Social Housing Policy page.

Our Approach to Affordable Housing

The approach adopted in the Local Housing Strategy is to set an optimum target of 20% across all 6 Housing Market Areas, but fully accepting that each project requires to be assessed on a development by development basis.

The approach being developed is to provide flexibility in terms of the amount of affordable housing required and the method of delivery. For example, an approach that proposes different tenure solutions, commuted sums, off site provision and other innovations could all be legitimate routes to meeting affordable housing provision and will be reflected in the Council's Affordable Housing Policy. This policy will set out in full how private sector builders will contribute to the delivery of affordable housing through the planning system.

The principal policy will be contained within the Local Development Plan and Supplementary Guidance will also be prepared.

Work on preparing that policy is currently underway. Please see Local Development Plan timetable contained in the Development Plan Scheme for more information. In the meantime, the Local Housing Strategy will be a material consideration used in conjunction with Local Plan General Policy 20 and any other relevant Development Plan policies.