The Local Government Association has urged the government not to restrict rural councils’ ability to extract affordable housing from developers.
Its call came as new Environment Secretary Owen Paterson published the government’s policies for boosting economic growth in the countryside in a Rural statement.
This follows last week’s announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron of a relaxation in planning rules, including removing requirements on developers to include affordable homes in developments in return for planning permission.
Such ‘planning gain’ conditions – usually referred to as Section 106 agreements – are a major way for councils to secure social housing provision but are seen by ministers as holding back housebuilding activity by making unreasonable demands on developers.
The LGA said rural areas needed affordable homes, as they often suffered a combination of high house prices and low average wages.
LGA rural commission chair Ken Hudson said: ‘It will be particularly important to rural communities, where house prices are often prohibitive for first-time buyers, that efforts to kick-start new building do not come at the expense of Section 106 contributions from developers, which provide much needed affordable housing and the parks, roads, street lighting and community centres needed to support growth.
‘Local authorities are overwhelmingly saying “yes” to new development. The latest figures on councils planning approval rates are at a ten-year high, so the planning system is not the problem.’
The Rural statement covers policy on economic growth, community involvement in policy making and quality of life in the countryside.Paterson said it would formalise the government’s drive to overcome barriers to growth for business in rural areas
It identified superfast broadband delivery, rural business grants and rural growth networks among the main initiatives.
Paterson said: ‘The government’s role is to ensure that rural areas have all the infrastructure they need to grow. Businesses should then be free from the unnecessary government red tape that has got in the way of rural economic growth in the past.’
