Affordable housing capital funding

Peterborough City Council is committed to supporting and investing in the provision of affordable housing. To assist provision, the Council has set aside funds to deliver affordable housing in Peterborough through a third party. These funds have been acquired as a result of Section 106 planning agreements, where a financial payment to the Council has been negotiated instead of on site affordable housing provision.

From July 2016 the Council has introduced a more flexible approach to accessing these funds and the previous under-utilised policy framework has been withdrawn.

The first step for Affordable Housing providers seeking to access funding is to contact the Housing and Strategic Planning Manager to discuss a potential scheme.

In order to consider funding requests we will need to know details about the scheme proposal, the housing need it is seeking to meet and why funding is being sought. We will expect that schemes seeking funding will contribute to meeting the housing needs of more vulnerable groups in the city and, in the event that we decide to offer support, we will want to explore a range of options around the type of funding support that the Council can offer.

Like many Affordable Housing providers, the Council is changing its approach to funding finance. While there will still be circumstances in which the Council will be prepared to offer grant funding, we will also want to fully explore all options around equity investment or a loan as alternatives. This is to ensure that, where feasible, we can recycle funds back into the Section 106 fund, to enable the maximum benefit from these affordable housing funds for the city.

Since our intention is not to have a prescribed format for accessing funding, the precise requirements for securing funds will depend on the nature of each proposal, but we will work with the Affordable Housing provider to clearly communicate what information is required to support the funding request in each case.

If you are considering applying for funding, contact the Housing and Strategic Planning Manager on telephone 01733 863815 or email housing.strategy@peterborough.gov.uk.

Custom and self build housing

As required by legislation, the Council has a register for people who are seeking to buy a serviced plot of land in Peterborough City Council’s administrative area for the purpose of building their own home. The Government has issued Regulations about eligibility for entry on the register.

An individual is eligible for entry on the register if that individual is:

aged 18 or over;
a British citizen, a national of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom, or a national of Switzerland;
seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in the relevant authority’s area to build a house to occupy as that individual’s sole or main residence.

In addition, and as permitted by the regulations, Peterborough City Council also require the following in order to be entered on the register:

pay a registration fee to the council of £20
if you want to be entered on Part1 of the register, you must meet the local connection test (set out below);

If the applicant is a group or an association, each member must fulfil the eligibility criteria and must each pay a £20 registration fee.

What is the benefit of being on ‘Part 1’ of the Register?

Part 1 of the register comprises those people and organisations who meet all of the eligibility criteria, including the local connection test. Part 2 comprises those people and organisations who meet all the eligibility criteria, apart from the local connection test.

To you as an individual or association, there is no direct benefit to being on ‘Part 1’.
However, the Council has a duty to facilitate the provision of enough service plots of land to meet the demand for the number of applicants on Part 1 of their register within a 3-year period.

Registration on either Part 1 or Part 2 does not however guarantee that a suitable plot will be identified, or become available.

What is the local connection test?

In order to meet the local connection test, you will need to:

currently live, or have lived within the Peterborough authority area for either 6 of the last 12 months or 3 of the last 5 years; or,
currently work within the Peterborough authority area; or,
have an immediate family member living within the Peterborough authority area(Immediate family means a parent, child, or sibling, or another family member if there is a particularly close relationship); or
be in service of the regular or reserve armed forces of the Crown or have applied within five years of discharge, and would have met any of the above at the date of commencing service.

Fees

An initial registration fee of £20 applies to new applicants from 1 June 2017. In an association, each member must pay the £20 fee.

Individuals and associations that have already entered on the register prior to 1 June 2017 will remain on the register without being required to pay the registration fee.

An annual fee of £20 per applicant, along with an updated registration form, to confirm continued eligibility, will be required to be submitted by 30 October each year from new and existing applicants to the register. Each September we will send a registration form to all those who are currently on the register.

New applications to the register can be made at any time throughout the year, but all applicants before 1 September each year will be required to re-register and pay a further registration fee by the 30 October each year in order to remain on the register, regardless of when they last registered.

How to pay

You can pay your £20 per person registration fee using the pay online facility.

Please note: Payment must be received before being registered. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure they meet the eligibility criteria in full prior to submission of the fee. The fee is non-refundable if not eligible.

Further information

There are various types of custom build project, which include:

Individual self build – an individual purchases a plot of land and builds a house to live
in. They may do some or all of the build themselves, or employ a builder, architect and in some cases, a project manager to oversee the build.
Group self build – a group of people come together to design and develop a custom build housing development which they then live in. They may build this themselves or with help from a developer to manage the project.
Developer-led custom build – a developer divides a larger site into individual plots and provides a design and build service to purchasers. This gives people a chance to tailor existing house designs to suit their own preference and needs.

Registering your interest in Custom and Self Build

Having read the guidance and criteria rules set out above, and you would like to be placed on the register, please complete the relevant registration form and email it to planningpolicy@peterborough.gov.uk, or post to:

Custom and Self Build Register,
Place and Economy,
Peterborough City Council,
Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY

Planning policies