Exception to the rule

“Because I want to; because I must; because now and forever more this is where I belong to be.” Daphne Du Maurier’s novel Jamaica Inn, set in Cornwall, sums up a certain type of passion people feel for the area. But with Cornwall being a lure for second homeowners and tourists alike, it can be tricky for people to afford to remain in communities with which they feel a strong affinity. A modern day update of the novel may end with the more circumspect “this is where I belong but can’t afford to be”.

As with neighbouring South West counties, it has high levels of second homeownership, meaning house prices are often unaffordable for local people. A 2011 census showed that about 11.2% of homes in Cornwall were second homes – in five parishes second homes accounted for more than 35% of all housing and the average house price was 87% above the Cornwall average. Land Registry figures show the average house price in Cornwall for January this year was £217,996. There are currently 18,500 households on the housing waiting list.

“My reason for being is to provide social housing.”

Sam Irving, housing delivery manager, Cornwall Council

Of course, while Cornwall attracts people from outside the region, it also has pockets of deprivation and low-income economies. In 2015 the government published Indices of Multiple Deprivation in England, which placed Cornwall at 143 out of 326 (with number one having the highest proportion of people living in deprivation). The indices revealed that 5% of the neighbourhoods in the county were among the most deprived in England.

Spanning one of the largest geographical planning areas in the UK, Cornwall has its work cut out. It is now a unitary authority after six boroughs and districts merged with the existing county council in 2009.

In the face of all this, the council’s housing and planning teams need to be committed to building affordable homes to keep Cornish communities alive. Sam Irving, housing delivery manager at Cornwall Council, seems to be. “My reason for being is to provide social housing,” he says.

The determination of Cornish councillors and officers saw three times more affordable homes on rural exception sites built between 2011 and 2016 in Cornwall than any other county in England (see box: Rural exception sites: the nitty-gritty).

According to government statistics, 1,475 affordable homes were built on rural exception sites in Cornwall in those five years. The second-highest number of affordable homes built on rural exception sites was in Norfolk: 446.

“If you are in a small community you feel that a big housing development will have a big impact.”

Joyce Duffin, portfolio holder for housing, Cornwall Council

But how and why is Cornwall doing better than neighbouring rural councils – Devon and Dorset, for example – that have the same issues with second homes and affordability? Just 345 and 122 affordable homes were built on rural exception sites between 2011 and 2016 in those counties, respectively.

Joyce Duffin, portfolio holder for housing at Cornwall Council, says her council likes rural exception sites because “there is a lot of loyalty to where you live [here] – a strong sense of community”.

She adds: “People don’t like the idea of really big sites. If you are in a small community you feel that a big housing development will have a big impact.”

The other way to build homes in rural areas is through Section 106 – planning obligations between developers and local authorities that can require a portion of housing on a site to be affordable – but this usually means the developments are larger with a smaller proportion of affordable homes. On a rural exception site the homes are mainly affordable in perpetuity.

If the number of homes being introduced is smaller, people are less concerned about the impact on infrastructure – often a concern in rural areas, according to Mr Irving.

Cornwall Council also adopts a high level of partnership working right across the board. Mr Irving says: “We take a partnership approach with communities. We want to work with them to give them housing that meets need.” The council works a lot with parish councils.

To successfully build homes on rural exception sites, having the support of local community and parish councils is crucial. It avoids disputes and blocks with planning applications, which can increase the often already lengthy process of bringing these schemes to fruition.

“Cornwall Council is strict that houses should be specifically built to the needs of the local parish.”

Mark Gardner, chief executive, Ocean Housing

Edwina Hannaford, portfolio holder for planning at Cornwall Council, says: “We also work closely with developers. We set up a private sector forum to engage with the development sector on practical and policy issues.”

Mr Irving says: “We have a close relationship with the [Homes and Communities Agency]. As officers, we have a really good relationship with our members.”

Keeping it local

Mark Gardner, chief executive of 4,000-home Ocean Housing, attests to this and the council’s commitment to communities. “Cornwall Council is strict that houses should be specifically built to the needs of the local parish, with a legal agreement ensuring that the properties not only remain affordable but can only be inhabited by those with local connections,” he says.

Nathan Cronk, head of development (delivery) at 22,800-home DCH, suggests housing associations are encouraged to build in Cornwall because of its “funding programme and planning policies that support the accelerated delivery of new homes”. The council has put up money for sites.

It spent £4.5m on exception sites in 2014/15 from a new build affordable housing pot of £6.9m; in 2015/16 half of the council’s £6m affordable housing budget was spent on exception sites. But this financial year – out of a projected spend of £6.4m – the council’s proportion of spending on exception sites will drop to £1m.

“Cornwall seems to be very proactive when it comes to identifying potential sites, supporting local people through the process.”

Matthew O’Connell, housing advisor, CLA

It will – as it has been doing – take full advantage of the government’s clarification in the 2012 National Planning Policy Framework that a few market sale homes could be included on sites, to cross-subsidise where necessary to pay for the affordable homes.

“We would prefer 100% rural affordable,” Ms Duffin says. But Mr Irving believes “less affordable housing is better than none”.

Matthew O’Connell, housing advisor at the CLA – a membership organisation for owners of land, property and businesses in rural England and Wales – says: “Cornwall seems to be very proactive when it comes to identifying potential sites, supporting local people through the process, bringing in registered providers and being pragmatic about cross-subsidising developments with market housing.”

Ms Duffin also notes: “We have a lot of smaller developers in Cornwall. They often like the exception sites because they are small.”

Devon and Dorset are made up of one county council, and eight and six district or borough councils respectively. There is not one overall housing policy for these areas. Councils in these counties do see the benefits of rural exception sites, but also point out the difficulties with them.

Cassandra Harrison, housing enabling officer at South Hams District Council, says: “The two main barriers are availability of land and funding. You also get opposition.” She says exception sites can take up to eight years to go through planning because of backlogs and legal issues.

Landowners can get between £8,000 and £15,000 for a plot for a home on a rural exception site. In Devon, as in Cornwall, it tends to be around the £10,000 mark. It can be reduced if there are issues with the site that can cost extra to bring it into use.

“By their nature rural exception sites are complex and the process of garnering local support takes time.”

Tim Yarker, portfolio holder for housing, West Dorset Council

Ms Harrison says the money for landowners is “not enough of an incentive”. Landowners can also donate land, but Ms Harrison says this hardly ever happens.

Government backing

Jaimie Jeyes, service lead for housing market balance at North Devon Council, says: “Although land values for exception sites are very low, they often prove to be expensive to build out as they can often be more
challenging sites.”

The land may be pastoral land that needs draining, be on the outskirts of a village where it is hard to install utilities, or come with legal issues because, for example, it must be accessed by a strip of land that belongs to someone else (‘ransom strips’).

Mr Jeyes adds: “North Devon Council has approved planning on many exception sites but we cannot control when the sites are actually built out.”

Tim Yarker, portfolio holder for housing at West Dorset Council, says: “By their nature rural exception sites are complex and the process of garnering local support and all the other elements necessary for success takes time, and the delivery of these can also depend on external factors such as national policy and funding.”

Trinley Walker, policy and research advisor at the charity Campaign to Protect Rural England, says the “wide variation across England in terms of the number of homes built through rural exception sites” is because of the “variation in different councils’ approaches to rural exception sites policy”. It also depends on whether they employ a rural housing enabler or not, Mr Walker says.

In February’s Housing White Paper, the government says it wants “stronger support” for rural exception sites. It is not explicit about what it aims to do, but says councils should “consider positively where they can contribute to meeting identified local housing needs”.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesperson says: “Rural exception sites can provide much-needed homes for local people and workers, helping to support thriving villages and rural communities.”

Mr O’Connell believes the White Paper and allowing market sale homes on rural exception sites would see more homes built in this way across the country. Whether other rural councils will follow suit remains to be seen. But if councils can make them viable – perhaps by cross-subsidy – it certainly seems worth their while doing so.

Certainly, for residents on low incomes looking to stay in communities they have strong links to, the level of success will fundamentally impact on their futures.