Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)

8.16. To meet local needs, a sufficient proportion of new homes provided over the plan period should be affordable and wheelchair accessible, and enough plots should be provided to meet local demand for self-build and custom-build housing. Viability should be considered when setting targets.       

8.17. Rising house prices and low average incomes over a long period has made market housing increasingly unaffordable for many households in Dudley. The Dudley HMA (2024) identifies requirements for new homes to be made available for affordable or social rent, shared ownership and First Homes. To meet this level of need over the Plan period, 23.5% of new housing would have to be affordable.              

8.18. The Viability and Delivery study demonstrates that viability varies greatly according to local housing values and whether the site is greenfield or brownfield. Therefore, a sliding scale of affordable housing requirements, ranging from 10% to 30%, has been set out in Policy DLP12 which reflects this variation. This approach should ensure that viability appraisals are not required at planning application stage for many sites. However, viability issues can vary significantly from site to site and are often caused by poor ground conditions, the extent of which cannot be accurately assessed until planning application stage. To maximise delivery of affordable housing over the Plan period, it is important that affordable housing is sought on all eligible sites, that viability is assessed on a site-by-site basis where required, and that a flexible approach is employed wherever possible to allow for changing market conditions.

8.19. The tenure of affordable housing required over the Plan period will vary according to local housing need and market conditions and will also be constrained by the requirements of national planning policy. In general, a mix of tenures will be sought on all sites of ten homes or more, to help create mixed communities across the borough. However, there may be circumstances where this goal is better achieved through the provision of a 100% affordable housing development to boost the affordable housing provision, or through a 100% market housing development with off-site provision of the affordable housing requirement.

8.20. There are currently 17 individuals on the self-build and custom-build register for Dudley (as of June 2024). To help meet the need for self-build and custom-build plots across Dudley over the plan period, developers of larger sites may be required to make available a small proportion of the development as serviced self-build and custom-build plots, as defined in national legislation and guidance (where a need is identified from the most up to date Self and Custom Build register and monitoring of planning permissions for such plots). These plots will not form part of the affordable housing requirement for the development. Detailed guidance for the plots, for example on design, will be provided at a local level where appropriate.

8.21. Dudley will work with partners to meet identified needs to accommodate older people, people with disabilities, and those with other special needs. The Dudley HMA (2024) concludes that 6,842 accessible and adaptable homes, including 949 wheelchair user homes, will be required by households in 2041 due to disability or old age. There is a need for these types of homes across all tenures. This implies that a significant uplift will be required to the number of homes that meet these standards currently. Although some improvements to existing homes funded through Disabled Facilities Grants may contribute towards this uplift, the provision of new homes meeting the standards would reduce the need for adaptations to be retrofitted and make the housing stock more responsive to the evolving needs of the local population.              

8.22. Accessible and adaptable homes that meet the M4(2) Building Regulations are designed and built to a standard that meets the needs of occupants with differing needs, including some older or disabled people, and are only slightly more expensive to build than standard housing. They must also allow adaptation to meet the changing needs of occupants over time. Homes built to this standard are more flexible and readily adaptable as people's needs change, for example if they have children and require easy access for pushchairs, if they have a temporary or permanent disability or health issue, or as they gradually age and their mobility decreases. Wheelchair user homes that meet the M4(3) Building Regulations are required by fewer households but involve a significantly increased cost.              

8.23. Therefore, all major housing developments will be expected to provide 20% of homes at the M4(2) standard, where this is financially viable. For major housing developments on greenfield sites in medium and higher value zones, where viability is less likely to be a constraint, there will be a requirement for 15% wheelchair user homes at the M4(3) standard, with the remainder of homes required to meet the M4(2) standard.              

8.24. The standards will be applied through planning conditions or section 106 agreements, which will require an agreed number of units to be constructed to the specified Building Regulations requirements.              

8.25. Policy DLP12 allows for an element of flexibility in recognition of the practicalities of delivering these standards, in particular given the challenges that may arise given the topography of some sites, where access within the gradients specified in the Building Regulations Approved Document may not be achievable. Where step free access to dwellings cannot feasibly be achieved due to site specific factors, the optional standards will not be required for the homes affected. Where multi storey flats or apartments are being developed without lift provision, homes on the first floor or above will not be required to meet the M4(2) or M4(3) standards. Ground floor flats in multi storey developments will still be required to meet the optional standards. Where lifts are provided the standards will be applied in accordance with the Policy.

8.26. The policy includes provision for flexible arrangements in relation to planning agreements as part of viability negotiations (including review mechanisms). The Council's objective in viability negotiations is to secure the maximum value of Planning Obligations to mitigate the impact of development, whilst working with developers to enable developments to come forward. The current Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (2016) sets out the range of different mechanisms that may be considered appropriate dependent upon the site and development specific circumstances. This guidance, and any subsequent updates will be used to inform the most appropriate approach on a case-by-case basis.