Gladman would welcome the addition of a policy in relation to self-build housing within the Greater Cambridge Local Plan. This would be in line with current government thinking and objectives. It is key that the development industry is able to understand the implications of any such policy requirement, to assist with the design of schemes and the consideration of financial viability.
Gladman recommend that any policy requirement in relation to self-build housing has an element of flexibility built in to allow for negotiation over self-build plots on the basis of identified demand and also viability to ensure that site delivery is not delayed or prevented from coming forward. Any specific requirement to include self-build plots should be tested through the Councils’ viability assessment of the Local Plan policies to ensure that the cumulative impacts of all proposed local standards and policy requirements do not put the implementation of the Plan as a whole at risk.
Further to this, Gladman urge the Councils to ensure the policy has added flexibility as there is no guarantee that these units will be delivered and there may be situations when they are difficult to deliver which may result in the non-delivery of otherwise sustainable land for housing. Therefore, Gladman recommend that any policy specific requirement needs to include a mechanism whereby if the self-build plots are not taken up within a given time period, then these revert back to market housing to be provided as part of the wider scheme. This would provide flexibility and help to ensure that the required housing is delivered.