Cornish residents back neighbourhood plan supporting affordable homes for local people

The Roseland Neighbourhood Development Plan was recommended for referendum in May, after planning inspector Clare Wright found that it set out "a clear and deliverable vision" for the area (19-page / 349 KB PDF). Of the 41% of local residents who voted in the subsequent referendum last month, three quarters voted in favour of using the plan to guide development on the peninsula until 2030.

The plan was prepared by residents of the parishes of Gerrans, Philleigh, Ruan Lanihorne, St Just in Roseland and Veryan within the South Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its policies seek to promote small-scale developments of up to five homes and emphasise the protection of the local landscape, prioritising the reuse of existing buildings and previously developed land.

The plan offers support for the provision of "a mix of affordable housing which meets proven local … need". It says proposals for the change of use of hotels and guesthouses and homes currently reserved for holiday lettings will be supported, provided that they are reused to provide affordable homes for those with a local connection. Similar support is offered to the re-use of redundant buildings for affordable housing and the construction of new affordable homes on brownfield land within existing settlement boundaries.

Under the plan, the ownership and occupation of affordable houses will be restricted to people in need of affordable housing who have lived or worked in one of the five parishes of the peninsula for at least five years; who are closely related to a resident of at least five years; or who grew up on the peninsula. Only if such a person cannot be found does the plan allow for an affordable home to be offered to somebody not meeting the local connection criteria.

The plan also includes a policy seeking to encourage full time use of homes as a principal residence. It says that the local community "has stated clearly that it does not wish to see an increase in the proportion of houses on the Roseland used as holiday lets or second homes, since this would decrease the vitality of the area". Its provisions state that all affordable housing "must be occupied as a full time residence" and that measures to increase the proportion of housing stock occupied by full time residents will be supported.

When consultation opened on the draft neighbourhood plan for nearby St Ives last year, planning minister Brandon Lewis raised doubts about the legality and enforceability of a policy that sought to restrict open market housing to principal residences. "National planning policy is clear that councils should plan for a mix of housing and any planning conditions must be reasonable and enforceable," said Lewis at the time. "Trying to control private ownership via the planning system will require intrusive inspectors to monitor the usage of every home and state surveillance of every property."

Planning expert Emma Cottam of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said: "This decision by the Examiner to allow the Roseland neighbourhood plan to proceed to referendum is interesting in light of Brandon Lewis’ comments last year in respect of the St Ives neighbourhood plan.  Ms Wright in her examination of the plan was unequivocal in her view that the plan set out a 'clear and deliverable vision' for the area. At the heart of the plan was the conservation and enhancement of the area, and to ensure the delivery of a 'sustainable future'.  Last year, Mr Lewis rallied against neighbourhood plans which sought to control the ownership of property; something Mr Lewis believed to be a 'fundamental British liberty', and likely to be considered largely undeliverable."

"However, the sustainability of an area is largely dependent upon maintaining a stable economy; something which is arguably threatened by having a large or disproportionate number of second homes and/or holiday lets in an area," said Cottam. "The decision by the residents of Roseland demonstrates how the 'golden thread' of sustainability in national policy flows down to local planning, and certainly other towns considering the economic impact of either tourism or second-home ownership, may be inspired by the developments in Roseland, and are likely to eagerly await the outcome of the referendum."