📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Cumulative monitoring of rural development impacts
What It Delivers
Ensures small rural schemes are tracked for combined impact.
Function
Prevent “salami-slicing” of rural schemes that avoid scrutiny by staying under thresholds.
Legal Basis
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations 2017 + Monitoring Best Practice
Completion Criteria
GIS-enabled system or spreadsheet tracking small-site rural approvals, with periodic internal review for combined impact (e.g. thresholds for EIA).
How to Implement
Track all rural approvals and assess combined impact regularly.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Local publication and monitoring of tilted balance applications
What It Delivers
Publicly tracks when tilted balance is used and what conditions are attached.
Function
Create a public registry of tilted balance approvals with delivery expectations, timelines, and profitability benchmarks.
Legal Basis
Administrative Best Practice
Completion Criteria
EHDC maintains and publishes a real-time log of all approvals justified under National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Paragraph 11(d), including delivery conditions.
How to Implement
EHDC to publish in real-time with tracking dashboard.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Community scrutiny of build-out timing and delivery
What It Delivers
Central access for residents to review viability and commitments.
Function
Enable residents to see and interrogate profit forecasts and delivery conditions.
Legal Basis
SPD or Administrative Practice
Completion Criteria
Viability assessments and key developer submissions (delivery schedules, infrastructure offers) are published online in a central searchable location.
How to Implement
Publish all developer materials in a centralised, searchable portal.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Public transparency platform for developer submissions
What It Delivers
Central access for residents to review viability and commitments.
Function
Enable residents to see and interrogate profit forecasts and delivery conditions.
Legal Basis
SPD or Administrative Practice
Completion Criteria
Viability assessments and key developer submissions (delivery schedules, infrastructure offers) are published online in a central searchable location.
How to Implement
Publish all developer materials in a centralised, searchable portal.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Raised affordable housing expectations on tilted balance sites
What It Delivers
Makes out-of-policy approvals work harder for community benefit.
Function
Ensure these out-of-policy approvals give back more unless viability proves otherwise.
🧩 Component 6: Raised Affordable Housing Expectations on Tilted Balance Sites — What It Actually Means
This component ensures that when planning permission is granted outside the Local Plan — typically under Paragraph 11(d) of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), known as the tilted balance — the developer must provide greater public benefit, especially in the form of affordable housing.
⚖️ What Is the Tilted Balance?
The tilted balance applies when a local authority lacks a five-year housing land supply or its Local Plan is considered out of date.
Under NPPF Paragraph 11(d):
Permission should be granted unless the adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.
📌 This means:
Councils must approve most developments unless they can prove significant harm.
It shifts power toward developers, making it harder to refuse out-of-policy schemes.
This makes it essential to set higher expectations when granting these exceptions.
🏘️ What This Component Does
Sets a policy or practice expectation that tilted balance approvals must exceed the standard minimum requirement for affordable housing, unless viability testing proves otherwise.
Signals to developers that “policy deviation = higher public obligations.”
Creates a negotiating baseline for planning officers to push for additional affordable units — e.g. 50% instead of 40% — on out-of-policy sites.
Requires developers to accept lower profit margins, enforced through open-book viability assessments, to reflect the exceptional planning benefit they are receiving (i.e. being approved despite policy conflict).
⚙️ How It Works in Practice
Use S106 Agreements (legal contracts tied to planning permissions) to set specific targets.
Embed expectations in:
Internal case officer guidance,
Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs),
Committee resolution templates for tilted balance cases.
Require developers to:
Declare projected profit margins, and
Prove via open-book accounting that they can’t meet the higher targets.
🧠 Why This Is Strategic and Necessary
Approvals outside the Local Plan are exceptions — not entitlements.
These approvals should:
Deliver more affordable housing,
Justify profit levels, and
Offset the harm of breaching planning policy.
This tool restores balance to a system that otherwise benefits speculative developers — and ensures communities receive maximum value when policy protections are relaxed.
✅ Legal and Policy Basis
Local Plan policies: May include discretion to increase obligations where developments are out of policy.
NPPF Paragraph 58: Viability testing is only required when developers contest policy obligations.
S106 Agreements: Can legally enforce affordable housing percentages and delivery phasing.
PPG on Viability (Planning Practice Guidance): Requires open-book, transparent viability assessments.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Profit-linked contribution clauses
What It Delivers
Captures additional funds if profits exceed fair margin (15–20% Gross Development Value – GDV).
Function
Require additional funds for infrastructure if profits exceed agreed margins.
Legal Basis
Viability Reviews in S106
Completion Criteria
S106 includes viability review mechanisms to reassess obligations if actual profits exceed projections.
How to Implement
Add profit review triggers post-delivery.
Timeline
Immediate
Owner
Legal Team / Viability Consultants
🧩 Component 5: Profit-Linked Contribution Clauses — What It Actually Means
This mechanism ensures that if a developer ends up making significantly more profit than they originally forecast, they must return a portion of those excess profits to the council or community.
💡 How It Works
At the time of planning approval, the developer submits a viability assessment (a financial forecast showing costs, revenues, and expected profit).
This assessment is used to agree contributions — for affordable housing, infrastructure, or community benefit — based on their projected margin (typically 15–20% of GDV, or Gross Development Value).
A clause is added to the Section 106 Agreement (a legal contract between the developer and the council to manage impacts of the development) that says: “If actual profit exceeds projected profit beyond a certain threshold, the surplus must be shared — e.g. by paying additional funds toward infrastructure or local benefit.”
📌 This does not mean changing built homes into affordable housing post-completion. It refers to financial top-ups only — sometimes called a “clawback.”
🔄 What If Developer Profit Is Lower Than Expected?
These clauses only claw back excess profit — they do not require the council to reimburse or reduce agreed obligations if the developer earns less.
The risk of lower-than-expected profit stays with the developer. This is standard commercial risk and not grounds to change planning obligations after approval.
🔒 Why It Matters
Developers are incentivised to report costs and profits accurately upfront — otherwise, they may face a clawback.
It ensures the community gets a fair share of value created by rising land prices, lower costs, or better sales.
This mechanism adds public accountability and discourages speculative overpromising or manipulation of viability data.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Uniform viability reporting format
What It Delivers
Standardises data, improving transparency and public understanding.
Function
Makes data easier to compare and analyse publicly.
Legal Basis
Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) or Local Plan policy
Completion Criteria
EHDC adopts an SPD or policy appendix specifying format, assumptions, and structure for viability assessments.
How to Implement
Adopt a local SPD specifying format and assumptions.
Timeline
1–3 months
Owner
Policy Team / Cabinet (Council Executive) Approval
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Open-book viability disclosure
What It Delivers
Exposes profit forecasts and cost assumptions to public scrutiny.
Function
Reveal real costs, profit assumptions, and land values to test affordability and obligations.
Legal Basis
Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) Viability, Paragraph 021
Completion Criteria
All major applications include a viability assessment, published online by default.
How to Implement
Make viability assessments mandatory and publish online.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
📘 Disclaimer: This document is a conceptual proposal prepared for consideration by East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). It does not represent current policy but outlines an optional framework that EHDC could choose to adopt, pilot, or develop further. It has been designed to be implementable in its current form or used as a foundation for future formal guidance or policy inclusion.
Component
Time-bound delivery clauses
What It Delivers
Ensures houses are built quickly; prevents speculative land holding.
Function
Prevent developers from land-banking; ensure houses are built fast enough to address local need.
Legal Basis
Section 106 (Town and Country Planning Act 1990)
Completion Criteria
Inclusion of enforceable build start and completion deadlines in all new S106 Agreements.
How to Implement
Insert enforceable delivery dates in S106 Agreements.
