Hounslow to make viability assessments publicly available online

According to a report (38-page / 378 KB PDF) to the Borough's planning committee, the new requirement is intended to "aid in transparency in the assessment of the planning application". The requirement will apply to full and outline planning applications and to applications for the approval of reserved matters, but not to applications for a change of use.

Government planning policy and guidance requires local authorities to apply their planning policy requirements, including affordable housing requirements, flexibly where the viability of a proposed development is questionable. Where developers have submitted viability assessments to justify delivering less-than-policy-compliant development proposals, local authorities have tended in the past to keep these assessments private.

However, in February the General Regulatory Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal ordered Greenwich Council to disclose the full details of the viability assessment that led it to approve a cut in the affordable housing provision at certain parts of the Greenwich Peninsula development site. The decision notice said the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of commercial or industrial information did not outweigh the public interest in disclosing the information.

Following this decision, councils including Greenwich Council and the London Borough of Hounslow have held public consultations on proposals to make assessments available to the public.

Hounslow's planning committee also resolved last week to grant conditional approval for a 58-home scheme offering only 21% affordable housing provision, despite a local plan target of 40% affordable housing. According to a report (31-page / 309 KB PDF) to the committee meeting, planning officers were satisfied that the developer's viability assessment showed more affordable housing could not be viably provided. The report said a section 106 agreement would secure a review mechanism to make sure more affordable housing was provided for should viability improve.

The proposal would add two storeys of one- and two-bedroom flats above two existing storeys of retail and commercial premises along the southern side of Hounslow High Street.

Planning expert Susanne Andreasen of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "Councils seeking to provide transparency to the public in respect of developers' viability appraisals is becoming an increasing trend following a number of recent decisions by the Information Commissioner’s Office and the First Tier Tribunal.

"Both the London Boroughs of Islington and Greenwich have taken similar steps to Hounslow in recent months and we are likely to see more local authorities bring forward proposals and policies on requirements for and publicity of viability information in the future," Andreasen said.