Affordable Housing and Housing Mix Supplementary Planning:
This Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) provides additional advice and guidance specific to the delivery of affordable housing as part of mixed-tenure developments in Belfast. It is intended for use by developers, the public, and by planning and housing officers in the assessment and delivery of planning proposals for new housing developments within Belfast.
SPG represents non-statutory planning guidance that supports, clarifies, and/or illustrates by example policies included within the current planning policy framework, including development plans and regional planning guidance. The information set out in this SPG is therefore a material planning consideration in determining planning applications and should be read in conjunction with the existing planning policy framework, most notably the Strategic Planning Policy Statement (SPPS) for Northern Ireland and the Belfast Local Development Plan.
The benefits of effectively delivering affordable homes in mixed-tenure developments in the city via policies HOU5 and HOU6 are significant, in terms of meeting affordable housing needs by opening up access to land, reducing pressures on government funding, and minimizing issues associated with mono-tenure developments. This SPG is therefore important in creating clarity and transparency for landowners, developers, and agents, in terms of how affordable homes will be delivered and will form a critical accompaniment to the Plan Strategy.
The definition does not materially affect the established and agreed meaning of social housing, as previously set out in the SPPS and the Belfast LDP Plan Strategy. However, the new definition provides a framework to enable the development of a wider range of intermediate housing products. More detailed information on the types of affordable housing currently available in Belfast can be found in Section 3.3 of this SPG.
The implementation of affordable housing requires a collaborative effort from a number of key stakeholders. Their specific roles in relation to this are set out below.
Belfast City Council is the planning authority, with responsibility to prepare the Local Development Plan (LDP) for the Belfast district, including associated planning objectives and policies. The Council determines the vast majority of individual planning applications within Belfast. The Council can negotiate details of affordable housing through the planning system and secure provision by means of “Section 76” planning agreements (s76 Agreements).
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) is the strategic housing authority for Northern Ireland and its statutory function includes the examination and assessment of housing needs. It is also responsible for the management and delivery of the Social Housing Development Programme (SHDP) across the region. The number of homes to be provided in each program year is governed by the amount of funding available from the central Government through the Department for Communities (DfC). NIHE is also a landlord of approximately 84,600 social housing dwellings.
NIHE makes grant payments to Registered Housing Associations (RHAs) in respect of the construction and provision of social housing. NIHE is also named as a consultation body in Part 1, Section 2 of the Planning (Local Development Plan) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 and as a consultee in development management, ‘where a proposal is likely to require a statement of affordable housing need’1 as set out in Schedule 3 to the Planning (General Development Procedure) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016.
DfC is responsible for setting overall affordable housing policy. It also provides grant funding for and approves the SHDP annually. DfC may also provide grant or loan funding for intermediate housing and set the eligibility and property value limits for intermediate housing products. DfC also has a role to play in developing and agreeing new affordable housing products.
In addition, it has the responsibility for the regulation of RHAs and for the Housing Association Guide (HAG), which sets the design standards that social housing must meet.