1. The Housing White Paper and Housing Affordability
Sue Brownill
Oxfordshire Community Land Trust, Oxford Brookes University
Who I am
Work here but tonight here as chair of OCLT and very much like to agree with what Helen has just said about need for affordable housing.
OCLT itself is an organisation which is committed to ensuring there are more affordble assets, in particular affordable housing for communities to beenfit from . We have already acquied some land in Botley and are in the process of bidding for another site in East Oxford to deliver affordable housing. You may also have heard about our bid for the Wolversote Paper Mill site also. CLTs offer a way of providing permanently afordable housing and land as it reamins owned by the community – rather than being bought and sold o the open market.
We also work with other groups to lobby for more affordable housing provision in Oxford and O’shire and to seek changes to local and national policy to enable more Ah and more community owbership of assetts – which is why we are part of tomight’s meeting.
I am going to give a very short intro to some of the main proposals I the white paper on AH as a way of starting discussions . Then Chrlie is going to talk more about C-L Housing Fund as an example of one way which we could dleiver more AH.
As well as

2. Fixing Our Broken Housing Market?
Published 7th Feb
Responses to be in by 2nd May
Covers 4 main areas
Planning For Homes in the Right Places
Building Homes Faster
Diversifying the Market
Helping People Now
Recognises affordability is a crucial issue, but does it do enough to ensure affordability rather than just the numbers of housing?
So WP itself was publiched evetually in Feb after much delay and we have until 2ns May to put in responses.
I would like to say there is a Lot in white paper to be welcomed. Unlike some policies from previous adminsitration it is based on a sound analysis of the problems in the housing market. It is also about reframeing deabtes; not just about homewonership, de-regulating planning and not just about enabling volume house builders. This recgnises the problem is more complex, that need for more delivery models et etc. the ‘boken housing market’
Also recognises that affodability is a vital issue as shown in TMs intro
But and it is a big but does it provide a way of delivering genuinely affordable housing in perpectuity

3. Proposals for Affordable Housing
Increase the number of units built ie the ‘broken’ market will provide; £2.3bn Housing Infrastructure Fund
10% of all units on sites over 10 should be for low cost home ownership (ie starter homes)
Starter homes (80% market price); guidelines clarified and changed
Cap of £80,000 incomes (£90k in London) and have to have a mortgage
15 year repayment period
£1.2bn Starter Home Land Fund already announced
80% of average house price in Oxford is £340,000 (9.4 times median income) 80% of averaged terraced house £270,000 (7.5 times median income)
Continued support for Help to Buy
Introduces affordable private rent (80% market rent) linked to ‘build to rent’. 80% of median rent in Oxford is £1279 per month (42% of median income)
I am only focusing here on the affordable housing. There are many other proposals aimed to increase the delivery of housing numbers. Largely through further changes to the planning system which are significant
One thing you may think is that given the focus o affordability in the PM froewrod what is actually inlcuded is somewhat sparse. In fact there seems to be a n assumption that increasing numbers will decrease prices –as if housing ever was a perfect market even though they recognise the market is broken.
In terms of specific policy recommendations
Focus on new affordable ‘products’ starter homes nad affordable private rented

4. Proposals for Affordable Housing
Regional pilot of Right to Buy for Housing Association homes; RTB to cover homes built by Local Authority Housing Companies
More flexibilities in the Affordable Homes Programme (£2.7bn) ie not just home ownership
Post 2020 social rents will be allowed to increase to ensure greater borrowing by social landlords
Commitment to rural exception sites and NPPF changes will make it easier to support them
Support for areas with pressure from second homes
Changed definition of affordable housing to include starter homes and affordable private rent
I am only focusing here on the affordable housing. There are many other proposals aimed to increase the delivery of housing numbers. Largely through further changes to the planning system which are significant
One thing you may think is that given the focus o affordability in the PM froewrod what is actually inlcuded is somewhat sparse. In fact there seems to be a n assumption that increasing numbers will decrease prices –as if housing ever was a perfect market even though they recognise the market is broken.
In terms of specific policy recommendations
Focus on new affordable ‘products’ starter homes nad affordable private rented

5. What is Affordable?
Recognises that affordability is the major issus – if you read TMs statement
But questionable whether proposals will deliver

6. Proposals With Implications for Delivering Affordable Homes
Believes increasing housing numbers will reduce costs; changes to planning system to enable this to happen through
Ensuring local plans or equivalent are in place
Increasing densities and changing space standards on suitable sites
Ensuring sites with permission are built out earlier
Standardised housing needs assessments
Housing delivery tests
One year housing gland supply

7. Proposals With Implications for Delivering Affordable Homes
Land;
Increase transparency of land ownership and options over land through Land Registry; but land owned by charities exempt
Consult on extending flexibility to dispose of land at less than best consideration, but only public sector land
Allowing local authorities to pool land for new development
New guidelines to encourage compulsory purchase of undeveloped land
Bring forward public sector land (£45m Land Release Fund)
Agencies;
Introduce legislation that will allow locally accountable New Town Development Corporations to be set up, so that local areas can use them as a delivery vehicle for new settlements including garden cities, towns and villages.
Finance; various funds to support general housebuilding ie infrastructure,

8. What it Doesn’t Say
Definition of affordability in relation to incomes and house prices eg one third of median income
What types of communities people want to live in
Increase borrowing cap for LAs to enable them to develop more housing
Increased funding for social housing ie a focus on those on the lowest incomes
How to increase land value uplift capture – but Community Infrastructure Levy review published the same day and there will be a statement in the Autumn Budget

9. Over to You to Discuss
If/how the White Paper addresses the need for permanently affordable housing in Oxfordshire?
What gaps/areas of concern are there?
What response should we feed back to government?
The opportunities that already exist to address the issue – in particular, the Community-Led Housing Fund
Other ideas for meeting the gaps
If/how we might work more closely together on these issues in the future.
So that is some of the background
I am going to hand over to Charlie and then it’s over to you to discuss your respones to the white paper