Potential Rural Exception Sites wanted for small affordable housing developments in rural areas.
Our Rural Housing Enabler Tim Gwilliam is putting out a call across Gloucestershire to find small patches of land where affordable homes could be built, under special rules which allow small rural affordable housing projects to be built in places where other developments would not normally be permitted.
These "Rural Exception Sites" are usually located on the edge of rural settlements, and can be given Rural Exception Site planning status if there is a clear need for affordable housing locally, backed up by evidence such as a housing needs survey of the type which GRCC carries out in rural parishes.
GRCC's Rural Housing Enabler Tim Gwilliam (centre) discussing the results of a housing needs survey with members of a parish council
Rural Exception Sites are typically used for small-scale affordable housing developments of around 10 units. The aim of Rural Exception Sites is to enable the building of much-needed affordable homes in rural areas, keeping rural communities viable.
“Delivering affordable housing in this way is a means of opening up land which would otherwise be constrained by local planning policies, and enabling landowners to put appropriate sites forward for a use that is of greater value than agricultural land,” said GRCC’s Tim Gwilliam.
Sycamore Grove Rural Exception Site in Chalford Hill, near Stroud.
“Applications for rural exception sites must still comply with other policies in local plans and the National Planning Policy Framework,” said Tim.
“Sites must therefore be of high-quality design, of an appropriate scale, must have suitable and safe access, and must be located in areas of low flood risk, among other key considerations.”
Any type of affordable housing can be delivered using a Rural Exception Site, including housing for affordable rent, intermediate housing including first homes, or housing for social rent, provided there is adequate evidence of local need.
A planning application for a Rural Exception Site will need to be accompanied by a local housing needs survey, which must show that there are people who are in housing need and who are unable to access the general housing market due to low incomes or the high price of local properties.
Once an affordable housing scheme has been built on a Rural Exception Site, GRCC can advise you on how to make sure that people who have clear family or work connections in the local area will have a stronger chance of accessing these homes.
Our call out for possible Rural Exception Sites
We want landowners and developers to get in touch with us to discuss any land that they have which might qualify as a possible Rural Exception Site for affordable housing. We will help to assess the site, provide advice, and help to submit it to the Gloucestershire Rural Housing Partnership and the relevant local authority. While Rural Exception Site status isn’t a guarantee that a site will secure planning permission, it greatly improves the chances, if the site meets other national policy requirements.
Please get in touch with us
If you know of a potential Rural Exception Site, do get in touch with us as soon as possible via timg@grcc.org.uk or 01452 528491, and we will work with you to assess the site's suitability and, if appropriate, help you to put it forward for Rural Exception Site status.
Note to Landowners
This call out for Rural Exception Site opportunities should not be confused with the local authorities’ general call for land as part of their Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA).