Small villages could soon find it easier to provide affordable housing for local residents

South Somerset District Council is asking the Government to designate most of its parishes as 'rural', in a move to help provide affordable homes for local residents, according to Somerset Live

Under current planning laws, housing developers only have to provide affordable housing for any new development of ten homes or more - meaning many smaller sites get built out without any low-cost option being provided.

Under the Housing Act 1985, UK parishes that are 'rural' (i.e., those with a population under 3,000) can set a lower threshold for affordable homes - allowing them to seek contributions from developers towards rural affordable homes without approving such large new schemes.

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Somerset Live - Small Somerset villages could soon find it easier to provide affordable housing for local residents