Providing affordable housing

Securing the delivery of affordable housing remains one of the strategic priorities for East Lindsey District Council.

The need for affordable housing in the district is evidenced from Strategic Housing Market Assessments for the area and then further refined by an analysis of households on the East Lindsey and Boston's Joint Housing Register.

Affordable Homes Programme

The Affordable Homes Programme is government programme managed by Homes England who work in partnership with Registered Providers (Housing Associations) Local Authorities and developers to deliver affordable housing through their grant programme. These schemes are normally fully affordable and deliver a mix of affordable tenures as part of the development.

Developer contributions and Section 106 Obligations

We also secure affordable housing through the planning system via developer contributions called Section 106 obligations.

East Lindsey District Council's housing and planning services will assist and advise developers and registered providers about affordable housing policy requirements and the type of provision needed within the district to meet the needs of local households.

As a general rule we will ask for a contribution towards the provision of social housing from developers on all housing sites of 15 units or more.

The table below shows the requirements as defined in the East Lindsey Core Strategy (adopted July 2018)

Any developers or Registered Provider who wish to discuss potential schemes for affordable housing or affordable housing requirements should contact the Housing Strategy team.

Exception Sites

There are only a few housing sites available in our small towns and villages. However, it is possible to build if a clear local housing need is established. Exceptions can be made to the normal village or town development boundary.

The planning conditions (Section 106 agreements) of any exception site will prioritise so that local people will be housed in the properties.

Single Plot Exceptions Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)

We recognise that affordable housing is not suitable for a large number of residents of the District. However, there are still a number of residents who aspire to become owner-occupiers but are unable to do so because of the high house prices combined with low income levels. This has led us to introduce a Single Plot Exceptions SPD. This positive planning policy enables people living in small rural settlements to build their own affordable home. The properties are restricted to local people and at less than market value (approximately 80%) to ensure that they remain affordable for residents of the village in future.

Community Led Housing Project

The Council has received £2.25M to enable the delivery of Community Led Housing in the district. We are currently working with local communities to deliver new affordable housing. 

Community Land Trusts (CLT)

A Community Land Trust is a nonprofit corporation that develops and owns affordable housing. They can also develop things like community gardens, civic buildings, commercial spaces and other community assets on behalf of a community.

"CLTs" balance the needs of individuals to access land and maintain security of tenure with a community's need to maintain affordability, economic diversity and local access to essential services.

East Midlands Community Led Housing (EMCLH) is a Community Interest Company who can provide advice, support and guidance to individuals and organisations who would like to set up a CLT in East Lindsey. EMCLH is a not for profit organisation.

For more details on the East Midlands CLH, they can be contacted on 07976 546532 or 07598 176353 or email: enquiries@emclh.co.uk