Page 42 - KPRM 2019

Kent County Council, Medway Council & Kent’s District Council Commentary
Infrastructure and Regeneration
Continued
Housing
Housing Market
There were 24,473 property transactions in Kent (KCC
area) during the calendar year 2018, and a further 3,951 in the Medway Unitary area. These figures are slightly lower than the previous year by -7.8% and -9.0% respectively.
This pattern follows a general trend for slower sales during 2018. Transactions in England & Wales were down by -1.8% compared with 2017 and in the South East transactions were down by -4.8%.
Within Kent, Dartford is the only area to have seen an increase in property transactions in 2018 compared to 2017 with 55 more sales which equates to a 2.4% increase.
Kent remains good value for house buyers. The overall average property price in Kent during 2018 was £339,689. This is 14.8% lower than the average property price in the South East, (£379,717) but 9.7% higher than the average for England & Wales (£297,220).
The average house price at a county level masks a significant range in prices across Kent, with an average of £519,211 in Sevenoaks to £260,030 in Thanet. The average price in the Medway Unitary area was £264,526.
Based on the number of Energy Performance Certificates issued on new dwellings, during 2018 there were 7,394 new dwellings built across Kent. This a 3.6% increase on the 2017 total of 7,134.
Sources:
HM Land Registry Open Data Standard Reports
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG): Live table NB1
Housing Delivery Test (HDT)
In February 2019, the first annual HDT results for councils were published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government based on the calculation:
Social Rent
In June 2018 Government confirmed a total additional budget for Homes England of £1.67bn to deliver Social Rent in areas of high need, as well as tenures currently available through Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme (SOAHP).
An addendum to the SOAHP Prospectus has been published which provides a list of eligible areas including Kent.
The Prospectus remains the key document for SOAHP 2016 to 2021: its content stands unless explicitly amended (such as the January 2017 Addendum), and providers should ensure that they read the Prospectus alongside both Addendums and the Capital Funding Guide Bidding is through Continuous Market Engagement.
Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF)
Forward Fund
On 4 July 2017, the Department for Communities and Local Government launched the £2.3 bn Housing Infrastructure Fund to unlock up to 100,000 new homes across the country. As part of the wider £23bn National Productivity Investment Fund, the HIF is aimed at providing grant funding to provide new homes in areas with the greatest need for housing, and fund vital physical infrastructure. The 2017 Autumn Budget announced a further £2.7bn to the HIF, taking the total investment to £5bn.
County and Unitary Authorities were invited to bid for up
to £250m of funding. This element of the fund is intended to deliver a small number of high impact infrastructure schemes to give the market confidence to provide further investment and homes in an area. Homes England/MHCLG are assessing 2 HIF Forward Fund bids from Kent and Medway:
Swale Borough – funding for key transport improvements necessary to support long term housing delivery. Medway/Hoo Peninsula – funding to significantly improve roads and rail connections as well as provide investment in local healthcare, schools, sports facilities and country parks.
An announcement on the outcome is expected later this year.
Marginal Viability Fund
Numerous housing sites all over the country are held
Housing Delivery Test (%)
(Total net homes delivered over three year period.)
(Total number of homes required over three year period.)
40 Kent Property Market Report 2019
Local Authorities are required to take specific action depending upon the result of their HDT calculation and until subsequent HDT results are published or new housing requirements are adopted:
•Pass (95%): No action required.
•Action Plan (>85%): LAs prepare an action plan identifying
causes of under delivery and actions to increase this.
•20% Land Buffer (>25%): LAs identify an additional deliverable land supply of 20%, equivalent to six years land supply over the next five years.
• Presumption in favour of sustainable development (<25%): Proposed developments should be granted permission unless the adverse impacts outweigh the benefits.
However, from November 2019, any councils with an HDT score below 45% will fall into ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. By November 2020 this will apply to any LPA with a score of less than 75%.
Homes England
The Homes England 2018-2019 Affordable Housing Programme (2015-18 and 2016-21) for Kent and Medway delivered 11 social rent starts and 38 completions, 578 affordable rent starts and 649 completions and 794 affordable home ownership starts and 623 completions.
Partnerships
Homes England has announced strategic partnerships with 23 housing associations to deliver an additional 39,000 affordable homes across the country by March 2022 with £1.7bn funding. A number of these are actively developing in Kent.