compulsory purchase powers - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

My impression is that the essence of rural exception housing is that the land goes in free of charge - usually donated by a Parish Council or some benificent local worthy. If the proposal is a planned policy intention then you would have difficulty in persading the District Valuer that the value of the land was nil. One way or the other you would find yourself paying full market value for the land, and so would defeat the objective of providing low cost housing. There are some RSLs who specialize in providing rural low cost housing and I would sugget that you talk to them about ways and means.

Thanks for your comments Tony - Im more thinking in instances where the parish council is supportive of a small scheme, but the landowner is reluctant to release the land - even though its the best location around the village in terms of access to a highway, school or even a shop (if there are any still trading in the village !!!). It will not be an allocated rural exceptions site in any poloicy or plan document, but it will still be developed by an RSL with the usual 106 affordable restriction in terms ot tennancy. Do you still think the valuer would charge open market housing value or existing agricultural land value?

The key question is this - would res dev ordinarily be granted on the land having regard to relevant policies and all other material considerations? If the answer is yes then one way or the other the RSL would wind up paying full market value - which rather defeats the object. If no, perhaps due to a rural settlement policy, then the unwilling owner might be persuaded that in return for a figure which was less than full market value, they might obtain a planning permission - which could only be executed by a participating RSL due to the "rural exception condition" - and then only within the three years before the planning permission expired. (So there would be no point in obtaining a highly conditional planning permission, sitting on it, and then hoping that in due time it might be renewed for open market value housing). Question (1) - If you were to refuse planning permission for res dev on the land in question say next month, then could you uphold that decision at appeal based solely on policy grounds? Question (2) - Does the unwilling owner share that belief, or does he think that he has some realistic "hope value" in future? Question (3) - How can you persuade him that a discounted value for rural exception housing is the only way he is going to see any value from the land within this lifetime? The theoretical answer is to get him to make an application for a Certificate of Alternative Development. That would resolve any question of the value which should be paid – and would also flush out the extent of local support for affordable rural exception housing.

Tony - thanks for your comments - sorry for the delay in responding - Public Inquiry / complaints / staff shortages / sickness / planning committee etc..... guess the answer is no one in UK has tried it yet! I guess we could apply for the cert of alt development if he wont? You are right - It would aso flush out local support