Out-Law News 1 min. read
18 Nov 2015, 2:27 pm
Outline planning permission was granted in August 2014 for up to 1,900 new homes at the site, which is the UK's biggest self-build development site. The Council held a consultation in the summer on a proposal to separate development into phases with a separate LDO for each phase and has now agreed to put in place an initial LDO for the first phase of up to 198 homes.
According to a report (12-page / 157 KB PDF) from the Council's head of development management, the area covered by the LDO is proposed to be divided into plots, each of which will have a "plot passport" setting out the requirements for building on the plot.
A LDO application submitted in September indicated that plots will be allocated for a variety of homes, from one-bedroom "coach houses" to five-bedroom "premium detached" properties and that 31 of the 198 homes are proposed to be affordable homes for shared ownership.
Self-builders whose proposals meet the requirements for building will be permitted to build on receipt of a notification from the Council that their plans comply with the LDO.
The report said the areas subject to LDOs will not include those to be developed by the site's strategic developer, such as its village centre, school, community centre and pavilion and certain locations along key routes.
Planning expert Rebecca Warren of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "This is an interesting approach taken by the Council given that outline permission already exists. It does however provide an opportunity to test the market as regards self-build, allowing the Council to impose constraints through the LDO on the construction of this tenure type."
"Given that the outline consent remains extant until 2022 and the LDO expires after five years, this clearly gives the Council an implementable fallback position, should self-build not prove attractive," Warren said.