Affordable
housing strategy
Frustrated with the continued lack of affordable housing provision across the UK, we have adopted our own direct affordable housing strategy that creates new housing and communities in a way not seen before.
In May 2017, LCC adopted its own affordable housing strategy which is constantly being updated. The main aim of this strategy is to provide access to an affordable, quality and sustainable home within the means of those who are in need of such housing.
The problem
In research carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of the National Housing Federation and reported by the BBC in September 2019 ‘an estimated 8.4 million people in England are living in an unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable home.’
Some people may have more than one of these housing problems, the federation said. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Shelter are among many other organisations who have reported on the problems faced.
Our aims
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Construction and
home safety
Innovative
construction
methods
Fabric
specification
Financial
helping hand
Housing
availability
Social value
The effects on community, health and well-being
Having an excellent quality home and achieving social value is central to our vision. We believe that having a well-built, comfortable and efficient home within a supportive community fosters health and well-being, leading to the opportunity to thrive in other areas such as education. As part of our approach, we aim to provide affordable tenures for renters, purchasers, renters wishing to purchase and our interpretation of shared ownership.
We are invested for the long term in the developments we undertake, with a management role. We will develop an LCC Development Trust for each community
with a focus on residents.
A lack of affordable homes
Legacy and stewardship
We want to create a legacy in all of our developments.
Neighbourhoods
We foster placemaking that creates safe neighbourhoods.
Accessibility
We want to ensure our communities are accessible for all.
Community
We orchestrate the infrastructure for communities to grow and thrive.
Management
We stay involved in the background to ensure management of common areas are well served.
Education
We believe that with a quality home, community and place to live, children can thrive in their education.
Health
We believe that the communities we create should enable good health and well-being.
Nature
We see nature as integral to the quality of place and therefore include varying scales of green and open space.
Land and joint venture
Whether a landowner, local authority, housing association or private builder, when an organisation allocates land to LCC, we take full responsibility for delivering 100% affordable homes. Our funding policy means that we can enter an agreement where there is no cost to our partner.
The homes are built under a unique agreement which means they are sold or rented at a flat rate regardless of where they are sited in the UK. The homes remain affordable in perpetuity. Thus, they are not targeted by speculators but purchased and lived in by people who genuinely require affordable homes. We aim to use a number of ways to acquire land across the UK.
High-value land areas: Where financial assistance/subsidy is needed.
Where central/local government financial assistance or land subsidy is needed in order to deliver our buildings at our standard national price.
- By working with other major housing developers, we can build all their statutory affordable housing for them on each of their substantial sites. By their subsidising the land cost of the affordable housing element of their site, we are able to satisfy all their LPA/S106 affordable housing requirements, whilst they are free to produce and sell purely market value homes.
- Working directly with the Government to utilise vacant and redundant brownfield sites.
- Working directly with local authorities and registered housing associations to identify and expedite planning and delivery for development sites where 100% of affordable homes can be built.
- Utilising government and local authority financial assistance for land purchase
All other areas of the UK.
Where there is no need of financial assistance or land subsidy.
- Direct open market purchase of advertised suitable development land.
- Working directly with both government and local authorities to identify privately-owned development sites that, despite permission, have failed to be developed – to put forward proposals for joint venture/purchase of
such land. - Working with redundant brownfield site owners to redevelop their sites for 100% affordable housing.
- Working with registered housing associations to deliver volume affordable housing under advance purchase contracts.
- Working with all the major commercial land agents to identify suitable sites.
- Joint venture/purchase of land proposals, where existing landowners of substantial development residential or commercial plots are seeking to maximise their return, will always be considered with or without existing planning permission.
Employer partners
As part of our model, we work with local authorities with reference to their assessment of housing needs, to partner with large employers, offering opportunities for their employees to be able to secure a home on a Low Carbon Construction Development.
For example, a large employer creating a new gigafactory would be able to provide an offeringto employees for homes to be allocated on a site.
The development could have multiple employer partners’ employees, along with other local residents living in a development, depending on the size. This provides a mixed community, and releases pressure on existing housing and infrastructure.
Large employers will have a ready made workforce in our affordable homes developments, promoting growth for the local economy with wider community benefits.
Press and media
We welcome press enquiries, and can furnish you with unbiased views for your commentary pages, ready-created material including photography, as well as making our spokespeople available for interview.
The environment
In the context of the climate emergency, current standards do not go far enough to address this very urgent problem. Affordable energy efficient buildings with low energy requirements and low embodied carbon materials are paramount to contribute towards lower emissions.
A financial helping hand
Our ethos now extends to our financial assistance – arranged by Low Carbon Construction Finance – who are able to offer a vast range of residential and commercial mortgage solutions tailored to individual circumstances.
