Rural Exception Sites are small scale developments on the edge of a village or small town that cater for a specific housing need of that location. They are not allocated within the local authority’s (LA’s) development plan and would not normally be consented for residential development but are considered on the basis they deliver affordable housing.
Small numbers of market homes (usually no more than 50%) may be allowed on these sites at the LA’s discretion, for example where it is essential to enable the delivery of affordable units without grant funding i.e. to improve the viability of the project.
Where an element of cross tenure subsidy is proposed any planning application will need to be accompanied by a Financial Viability Assessment (FVA) which is carried out in the form of a financial appraisal and recommendations report which is then used to inform negotiations with the LA regarding the split of tenures across the site. If you require an FVA please get in touch, and we would be pleased to assist.
We are currently involved in a number of Rural Exception Sites and looking for developers who would like to take them forward. For more information on these please get in touch.
