Broadland Housing Association agreed with Longham Parish Council to carry out a survey about housing need in the parish. The survey closed in August 2022.

If the survey identifies there is sufficient need for affordable homes, Broadland Housing Association will work in partnership with the Parish Council and local landowners to deliver either a 100% affordable housing scheme or a mixed-tenure housing exception scheme in the village, dependent on need and funding. Broadland Housing Association will then invite local landowners to put forward potential sites for consideration.

Background

Exception housing schemes are provided on land in the countryside that would otherwise not be permitted for development. The homes on an exception housing scheme are allocated using the Local Allocations Agreement, which ensures the homes are prioritised for households with a local connection to the parish in which the scheme is located and the adjoining civil parishes.

Housing need in rural areas can often be hidden and not necessarily visible to the wider community or statutory authorities. An individual or household is considered to be in housing need when:

• they require separate or alternative accommodation AND
• they are unable to rent or buy housing generally available on the open market.

Affordable homes

Two tenures of affordable homes are typically provided on exception housing schemes:

• Affordable rent properties are let at rents discounted at 80% of market and generally capped at the Local Housing Allowance.
• Shared ownership allows a household to buy an equity share of their home and pay rent on the portion retained by the housing association. Broadland Housing Association will retain the freehold. Shared owners are able to purchase equity shares up to an 80% cap of property value.

A small number of market sale homes may also be required to generate cross-subsidy and make the affordable homes more financially viable.

If you have any queries, please contact Adam Ballard.