Local Plan - Preferred Options Consultation Document (Reg18)

5 Living Places

5.1The Local Plan’s strategic objectives for Housing Delivery are “To provide new dwellings and other forms of specialist accommodation within Tendring District up to 2042 of sufficient variety in terms of location of sites, size, types, tenure and affordability to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population in full” and “to deliver high quality sustainable new communities”.

Housing Supply

5.2One of the government’s main objectives, as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, is to significantly boost the supply of homes across the country. To achieve this objective, in 2024 the government introduced mandatory housebuilding targets for all local planning authorities calculated using a standard method that generates a local housing need figure for each area. For Tendring, the housebuilding target set by the government is 1,063 homes a year – almost double the level of development the Council was planning for in our previous Local Plan. This figure applies from 2026.

5.3Between 2013 and 2025, the District grew by nearly 7,600 homes – meeting and comfortably exceeding the previous Local Plan’s housing target of 550 a year. However, for the period of this Local Plan (2025 to 2042), the total housebuilding requirement resulting from the government’s mandatory targets will be 18,071 –1,063 homes a year over the 17-year period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2042.

5.4This is a minimum requirement, and Councils are no longer permitted to argue for a lower target – except in very exceptional circumstances where there is insufficient land in their area to deliver the required homes. In those cases, Councils are required to work with neighbouring authorities to ensure any unmet requirements are planned for over a wider area. Because Tendring District Council and Colchester City Council are already working together to deliver the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community crossing the Tendring/Colchester border and both authorities have very challenging targets (1,063 homes a year for Tendring and 1,300 for Colchester), the Councils have agreed to meet any additional housing requirements up to 2042 on land with their own areas respectively.

5.5The Council estimates that 10,700 of the new requirement of 18,071 homes can be built across sites that had already been allocated for development in the last Local Plan (including at the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community and the Rouses Farm and Oakwood Park developments on the edge of Clacton); as well as sites that in 2025 had already obtained planning permission or were already under construction and from an expected contribution of housing development on small ‘windfall sites’ across the District.

5.6The residual requirement for new homes for which additional land must be identified in this Local Plan is therefore 7,400. To meet this additional requirement, the spatial strategy for growth in this Plan, which had already made provision for substantial growth around Clacton and at the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community in the previous Local Plan, has been adjusted to promote significant additional growth in the Harwich area, the establishment of Garden Villages at Hare Green, Horsley Cross, and Weeley and through additional proportionate growth around other towns and villages in Tendring – particularly larger villages with railway stations.

5.7In identifying land for new homes, the government’s National Planning Policy Framework requires Councils to identify a sufficient supply and mix of sites, taking into account their availability, suitability and likely economic viability. It requires planning policies to identify a supply of:

1. specific, ‘deliverable’ sites for five years following the intended date of adoption of the Local Plan (which for Tendring is the five-year period 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2032); and
2. specific, ‘developable’ sites or broad locations for growth, for the subsequent years 6-10 and, where possible, for years 11-15 of the remaining plan period (which for Tendring means the periods 1 April 2032 to 31 March 2037 and 1 April 2037 to 31 March 2042).

5.8In line with the NPPF, for housing sites to be considered ‘deliverable’ in years 1-5 they should be available now, offer a suitable location for development now, and be achievable with a realistic prospect that housing will be delivered on the site within five years. In particular:

1. sites which do not involve major development and have planning permission, and all sites with detailed planning permission, should be considered deliverable until permission expires, unless there is clear evidence that homes will not be delivered within five years (for example because they are no longer viable, there is no longer a demand for the type of units or sites have long term phasing plans).
2. where a site has outline planning permission for major development, has been allocated in a development plan, has a grant of permission in principle, or is identified on a brownfield register, it should only be considered deliverable where there is clear evidence that housing completions will begin on site within five years.

5.9Further to the above, the government requires Councils to maintain an ongoing five-year supply of ‘deliverable’ sites on an ongoing annual basis.

5.10Because the mandatory housing target introduced by the Government in 2024 marks such a sharp increase in the housing growth expected in Tendring, the Council has needed to identify a number of small to medium sized sites in this Local Plan with the potential to deliver homes in the shorter-term to ensure housebuilding targets can be met in the early years 2027-2032. These sites area spread throughout the District and include land on the edge of existing towns and villages. As well as helping to bolster housing delivery in the short-term, some of these smaller developments will also enable the Council to fulfil the NPPF requirement to accommodate at least 10% of local housing requirements on sites no larger one hectare. Smaller to medium development sites provide opportunities for local housebuilders and tradespersons and ensure the market is not dominated by the larger volume house builders.

5.11For the longer-term however (2032 to 2042 – i.e. years 6-10 and 11-15), the Council is required to identify ‘developable sites’ or ‘broad locations for growth’. The NPPF says that for a site to be considered ‘developable’ it should be a suitable location for housing development with a reasonable prospect that they will be available and could be viably developed at the point envisaged. Given the sheer scale of housing now required to meet the government’s mandatory housebuilding targets, the Council has needed to identify additional large-scale development opportunities in strategically important locations along the A120 transport corridor and of a scale that will justify and support the delivery of new business and employment opportunities as well as new and improved infrastructure including public transport and highway junctions, new schools, green infrastructure and other community facilities.

5.12Like for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, these more strategic developments around Harwich and the Garden Villages proposed Hare Green and Horsley Cross will take a number of years to plan to ensure they are delivered in a coordinated way. The Garden Villages in particular are identified in the Plan as ‘broad locations for growth’ as opposed to specific allocations, with more detail to follow through future planning documents, master plans and planning applications. Delivery of these more strategic developments will likely be from 2031 onwards with development expected to continue beyond 2042 and into the next Local Plan period.

5.13Across the full plan period, the SHLAA demonstrates that land is available for 19,517 dwellings, providing approximately 1,450 dwellings more than the requirement of 18,071 dwellings arising from the standard method. This 8% level of flexibility provides robustness against unforeseen delivery constraints, market fluctuations or delays to major schemes.

5.14Table LP1 makes provision for the homes required as calculated using the standard method. The supply consists of large sites (10 or more homes) with planning permission or a resolution to grant planning permission, an allowance for small sites (of 9 or fewer homes) based on past trends and sites for 10 or more homes allocated in the Local Plan.

Table LP1 Local Plan Housing Allocations

5.15The supply of housing throughout the Local Plan period will be supplemented by proposals for rural exception schemes, self and custom build developments and bringing back into use some of the long-term empty properties in the District through the Council’s Empty Homes Strategy. The broad areas allocated for housing and mixed-use development in this Local Plan are shown on the relevant Policies Map Insets and supported by locality-based maps in the appendices of this document.

5.16In accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework, the Council will monitor the delivery of new housing on an annual basis and publish the results in its Authorities Monitoring Report. The Council will seek to ensure that, in any one year, there is sufficient land available to deliver a minimum of the next 5-years’ worth of new housing plus the appropriate buffer to allow flexibility in the market for land, taking into account any under-provision or over-provision from the previous year(s).

Housing Choice

5.17As well as planning for a significant increase in housing development, the National Planning Policy Framework requires Councils to plan for a mix of new housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and different groups within the community. The Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessments section of the National Planning Practice Guidance details how affordable housing need should be calculated. It defines affordable housing need as the ‘number of households and projected households who lack their own housing or live in unsuitable housing and who cannot afford to meet their housing needs in the market.’

5.18The assessment consists of four broad stages to calculate affordable housing need:

• an assessment of the current gross unmet need for affordable housing;
• an assessment of the newly arising need for housing;
• an assessment of the current affordable housing supply;
• an assessment of future affordable housing supply.

5.19Within each of the four stages, there are a number of detailed calculations many of which themselves have a number of components. The Tendring Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), published in March 2025, updates the evidence on the type, tenure and size of homes required. The SHMA identifies a net annual affordable housing need of 275 homes per year, taking into account current unmet need, newly‑forming households and the anticipated supply of affordable homes. This represents around a quarter of the overall annual housing requirement and demonstrates a sustained and pressing need for affordable housing in the District.

5.20The update suggests there is likely to be a demand for a range of dwelling size, type and tenure over the plan period. It is estimated that around 74.1 % of the need for new housing up to 2042 will be for ‘market housing’ available to buy or rent at open market values and around 25.9 % of the need for housing will be for ‘affordable housing’ (made up of Social/Affordable Rent, Shared Ownership and First Homes), to be made available by the Council or other registered providers at lower than market prices to meet the needs of people and families with lower incomes that cannot afford to buy or rent property on the open market.

5.21The tenure profile from the update, suggests there will be a need for 69.3% of all homes to be owner occupied, 20.0% private rented, 1.2% shared ownership and 9.5 % social/affordable rented. To meet this tenure distribution the proportion of tenure completions would be 60.8% owner occupied, 20.5% private rented, 4.1% shared ownership and 14.6% social/affordable rent.

5.22In terms of dwelling size, for owner occupied, the share required for the new housing stock is 23.1% one bedroom, 27.1% two bedroom, 23.1% three bedroom and 26.7% four or more bedrooms. For private rented, the change required is 24.7% one bedroom, 26.1% two bedroom, 25.2% three bedroom and 24.1% four plus bedrooms.

Housing Density

5.23It is important that the density of housing development supports a high quality of life for residents, reflects the location’s accessibility to local services, provides appropriate internal floor space and private outdoor amenity space, delivers a suitable mix of housing types and sizes, and responds positively to the character of the surrounding area. Applicants should clearly demonstrate how they have engaged with and applied relevant guidance from the following documents: Building for a Healthy Life (2020), Active Design Principles (2023), Essex Healthy Places (2023), and Livewell Accreditation (2019). Proposals should reflect the principles set out in these frameworks to promote healthier, more inclusive and sustainable communities. Higher densities may be appropriate in town centres to support retail, public transport, walking and cycling and minimising greenfield development.

Development Layout & Design

5.24The National Planning Policy Framework states that the supply of new homes can sometimes best be achieved through planning for larger scale developments that follow the principles of ‘Garden Cities’.

5.25Due to the lack of available brownfield land, the Council has no choice but to promote the expansion of towns and villages onto greenfield land to deliver the District’s future housing requirements. The Council wants to embrace the principles of the Garden City movement as a means of bringing about social and economic improvements in the District. The Council will therefore only support large scale housing and mixed-use developments if they are well designed, integrated with the existing environment and contribute positively towards the ‘sense of place’.

5.26Examples of residential areas in the Tendring District that display these characteristics are the Avenues area of Frinton-on-Sea, the Gardens area of Clacton-on-Sea and inter-war developments in Tewkesbury, Thornbury and Severn Roads, Douglas Road, Vicarage Gardens, Clacton; and the majority of Holland-on-Sea.

Affordable Housing

5.27The Council’s Strategic Housing Market Assessment suggests that over the plan period there will be demand for new ‘affordable housing’ in our District to cater for people and families with low incomes who cannot afford to buy or rent property on the open market. Extensive public consultation with our residents suggests that the concept of affordable housing is supported, especially to give younger people a fair chance to live and work in the area. However, there is a concern that if this housing is not properly managed and there are no strict controls on who can and cannot qualify, it could encourage people from outside of Tendring to move to the area for affordable accommodation, placing people with long-standing local connections at a disadvantage.

5.28To tackle this issue, the Council has carefully reviewed its policies on who can and cannot qualify for affordable housing to give priority to those people who have lived, and ideally worked, in the District for at least three years. The Council will still have a statutory duty to meet the needs of people from outside the District if they have a particular urgent need for housing, but in the majority of cases local people will be given priority. The Council also proposes to deliver affordable housing in the form of ‘Council Housing’, managed and maintained directly by Tendring District Council, to ensure that these rules are properly enforced. Specialist affordable/market homes such as starter homes and key worker homes will be delivered as market or affordable homes as appropriate.

5.29The latest viability evidence prepared to inform this Local Plan Review demonstrates that, when all policy requirements are taken into account (including contributions to infrastructure, design and environmental standards, and the provision of green and blue infrastructure) a requirement of 20% affordable housing on all sites of 10 or more dwellings represents an appropriate and deliverable level across the District. This approach ensures that sites remain viable while continuing to make a meaningful contribution to meeting identified affordable housing needs. Reflecting their strategic scale and masterplanned approach to delivery, the two new proposed Garden Villages are expected to provide 30% affordable housing, consistent with the wider objectives for these developments to deliver comprehensive, infrastructure‑led communities over the long term.

5.30Policy LP5 requires that, outside of the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community and the proposed Garden Villages at Hare Green and Horsley Cross, any development creating 10 or more net new homes, or any housing development on a site of one hectare or more, must provide 20% of new dwellings (including conversions) as affordable housing. These homes must be made available for Tendring District Council, or a nominated partner such as a registered provider or trust, to acquire at a discounted rate for affordable housing use.

5.31To guard against the possibility of sites being split or developed in phases to avoid the above size thresholds and the requirement to provide affordable housing, the 20% requirement will also apply in instances where two or more adjoining developments, when taken together, exceed the thresholds; and where it would be reasonable to consider the developments in combination.

5.32A lesser amount of affordable housing than required by Policy LP5 will only be considered where robust evidence is provided to demonstrate that the development would not be economically viable as a result of the affordable housing requirement. Such evidence will be independently tested, at the applicant’s cost, as necessary. In certain exceptional circumstances, the Council might also consider alternative approaches to the provision of affordable housing such as financial contributions towards off-site provision, the transfer of a low number of homes to the Council or a local housing trust at nominal cost or a combination of the two.

Rural Exception Sites

5.33To enable the delivery of affordable housing in rural areas, the Rural Exception Scheme allows small developments on a site which abuts or is well-related to the Settlement Development Boundary of a ‘Rural Service Centre’ or ‘Smaller Rural Settlement’ as defined by the spatial hierarchy. These can come forward as an exception to normal settlement policy. Such schemes are intended to meet the housing needs of local people unable to afford accommodation in the villages where they live or have close local family or employment ties. The rural exception policy will be particularly useful in delivering additional housing in rural settlements where only limited growth (relative to the overall housing need as set out above) is proposed and where the affordable housing is not likely to be otherwise delivered. Where Parishes have identified a need for local housing in an area, it can still be difficult to encourage landowners to sell their land below open market residential values. To address this, there is a provision for a maximum of one open market home in three homes on sites put forward by the Parish Council or through the Community Right to Build; or a maximum of two in three dwellings can be as open market homes where at least half of those open market homes (rounded up if necessary) is for self and custom-build in line with Policy LP7.

5.34In considering planning applications for affordable local needs housing, the Council must be provided with evidence to show a scheme meets a demonstrated local need. Such evidence should define the local client group requiring housing and their specific housing requirements.

5.35In addition, information detailing the number, size and tenure of dwellings proposed (e.g. rental units or shared ownership) will be required. Otherwise, the exceptional need for a proposal, in particular whether it meets or contributes to the identified local need, cannot be established. In such circumstances, a detailed planning application will normally be needed.

5.36It is essential to demonstrate that the proposed housing realistically meets or contributes to the identified local need and will be exclusively reserved and managed in perpetuity as affordable housing for the long-term benefit of the local community. Therefore, arrangements which will secure this must be in place before planning permission is granted and when the rental values or selling prices are accurately predicted. These would normally take the form of voluntary planning obligations and covenants offered by the agency involved in managing the scheme and agreed by the landowner, the developer and the Council. Management of the scheme by Tendring District Council or an alternative housing association, charitable trust or similar organisation will generally offer the required assurances. Restricting the occupation of property to people falling within the identified categories of local need will ensure that units remain affordable.

Self-Build and Custom-Built Homes

5.37The National Planning Policy Framework requires Councils to plan for a mix of housing based on the needs of different groups in the community which includes people wishing to build their own homes as a Self-Build or Custom-Built home. The majority of the new homes that will be built in Tendring up to 2042 will be on sites specifically allocated for development which tend to be acquired by volume house builders and local developers who will aim to deliver new housing to meet the needs of the mass market. However, this leaves few opportunities for the construction of individual properties of bespoke and innovative architectural design, larger more spacious properties for the higher end of the market and self-build ‘grand designs’ for people wanting to build a home to live in themselves.

5.38The strategic priorities of this Local Plan focus heavily on the need to deliver economic growth, tackle unemployment and deprivation and improve the long-term prospects of future generations. Alongside measures to attract businesses, rejuvenate town centres and create more jobs, the Council’s Economic Development Strategy suggests that delivering the right mix of housing is critical to the future of the District’s economy. By enabling opportunities to deliver self-build homes within the overall mix of new housing over the plan period, the District can go some way in providing attractive high-quality properties that local people can aspire to live in and stay close to their family. The opportunities to build such properties could also help to encourage high-earners and people with entrepreneurial spirit to live in the District who will have disposable income to spend in the local economy and who have the potential to invest in local business opportunities.

5.39The Council maintains a Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register in accordance with national legislation, to monitor local demand for self-build and custom-built homes. The register provides the primary source of evidence on the demand for self‑build housing in the District, and current monitoring shows that the Council is not presently meeting the level of demand indicated by entries on the register within the statutory timeframe. Policy LP7 therefore sets out the circumstances under which aspirational or self‑build homes may be supported outside of settlement development boundaries but within reasonable proximity of the District’s defined settlements. For larger developments of 150 dwellings or more, the policy requires a small proportion (2%) of serviced plots to be made available for self‑build or custom‑build housing, helping to diversify the local housing supply and respond to evidenced demand.

5.40Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework requires Councils to avoid the development of isolated homes in the countryside unless there are special circumstances which, amongst others, can include a “design of exceptional quality, in that it is truly outstanding, reflecting the highest standards in architecture, and would help to raise standards of design more generally in rural areas”. Policy LP7 therefore sets out the circumstances under which aspirational or self-build homes could be built outside of settlement development boundaries but within a reasonable proximity of the District’s defined settlements.

Backland Residential Development

5.41“Backland” developments are, for the purposes of Policy LP8 below, defined as the proposed erection of one or more dwelling houses on a parcel of land:

• which lies generally behind the line of existing frontage development;
• has little or no frontage to existing public highway; and
• which would constitute piecemeal development in that it does not form part of a large area allocated for development.

5.42Typical sites include the back gardens of existing dwellings, “tandem” development sites of the kind found in Jaywick Sands, smallholdings, yards, or small vacant sites. On these sites, it will often be difficult to achieve the design requirements of this Local Plan due to a combination of location, restricted access and intensity of residential use in the vicinity.

5.43The main problems that can arise as a result of backland development include: undermining the established character of an area (especially if similar schemes were to be repeated elsewhere in a locality); dwelling plots appearing cramped relative to their surroundings; the fragmentation of established gardens with a loss of mature landscaping; and the infringement of neighbouring residents’ amenities. Development behind an established building line can also appear incongruous, particularly isolated dwellings. To avoid these problems, backland development requires particularly thorough planning, and Policy LP8 provides specific criteria that the Council will apply in such proposals.

5.44There must also be proper means of access to backland development, which is safe and convenient for both drivers and pedestrians, with a turning area where necessary to avoid the need for vehicles to reverse onto a public highway. A proposed access that is uncharacteristically elongated or constrained in width can often result in poor integration with the surrounding built environment. Such driveways can appear visually intrusive, undermine the established grain of development, and signal harmful overdevelopment by forcing new dwellings into confined plots.

5.45Narrow driveways may also pose safety concerns, particularly for pedestrians and people with disabilities, due to limited visibility, lack of dedicated walking space, and inadequate separation from vehicles. Policy LP8 seeks to discourage these forms of access where they are out of keeping with the local character, compromise safety, or suggest an inappropriate intensity of development. Moreover, new access arrangement should avoid excessive disturbance or loss of privacy to neighbouring residents through, for example, an access drive passing unreasonably close to an adjoining dwelling. The likely frequency of use by vehicular traffic and the suitability of the access for service vehicles and the emergency services will also be relevant material considerations.

5.46“Tandem” development consists of a dwelling or dwellings immediately behind an existing residential frontage which are served by a shared access. It is generally unsatisfactory because of the difficulties of access to the dwelling at the rear and the disturbance and lack of privacy suffered by the residents of the dwelling in front.

Gypsy and Traveller Sites

5.47The latest Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment (GTAA) for all local planning authorities in Essex was commissioned jointly by the Councils in line with the legal duty to cooperate and follows a consistent methodology. For Tendring, the GTAA identifies a projected future need up to 2042 for 38 plots, comprising 28 pitches for households that meet the planning definition and 10 pitches for households where status is undetermined. Short-term needs could be met through proportionate expansion of the District’s two largest established sites at Woodfield Bungalow, Great Bentley, and Gutteridge Hall Lane, Weeley, subject to planning applications being assessed against relevant Local Plan policies. To explore this option, the Council will undertake a focused Call for Sites consultation with relevant landowners to identify available land and assess its suitability for allocation.

5.48Longer-term provision will be delivered as part of major strategic growth locations, including the Colchester Tendring Borders Garden Community (Policy SAMU1) and the proposed Garden Villages at Hare Green (Policy SAMU8) and Horsley Cross (Policy SAMU9), all of which benefit from proximity to the A120 and the strategic road network. The GTAA confirms that there is no current or future need for plots for travelling show-people in Tendring; therefore, no land is allocated for this purpose.

5.49National planning policy, as set out in the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites (PPTS, 2015), requires local authorities to adopt a criteria-based approach in their Local Plans to guide decisions on planning applications for Gypsy and Traveller sites, even where there is no identified need. Such policies should be fair and should facilitate the traditional and nomadic way of life of travellers while respecting the interests of the settled community.

5.50Accordingly, any proposals for new sites or additional pitches will be assessed against the criteria in Policy LP9 and other relevant policies in this Local Plan. These criteria ensure that sites are appropriately located, well-designed, and provide a good standard of residential amenity while avoiding harm to the environment and ensuring safe access to services and infrastructure.

Care, Independent and Assisted Living, and Secure Institutions

5.51Demographic projections suggest that by the end of the plan period in 2042, over 62% of our residents could be over the age of 65 and we know that our District is already a very popular area for retirement, particularly in our coastal towns of Clacton and Frinton, with much of the demand for new housing driven by the migration of older people from other parts of the country. Generally, thanks to advancements in medical care and healthier lifestyles, people are living longer, and the Council is actively promoting the District’s leisure offer to the ‘active retired’ who make a valuable contribution toward our local economy.

5.52The latest Supported and Specialist Housing and Accommodation Needs Assessment 2025 (SSHANA) identifies a substantial shortfall in extra-care housing, care homes, and supported living options for older people, those with disabilities, and individuals with mental health needs.

5.53Providing specialist and supported housing in sustainable locations will enable residents to remain independent for longer, reduce pressure on health and social care services, and support the Council’s objectives for healthy, inclusive communities. Integration within settlements ensures access to local services and reduces isolation, while high design standards and amenity provision safeguard quality of life.

5.54The Local Plan encourages development of care, independent and assisted living homes in appropriate locations. This will ensure future generations of older and disabled residents get the highest quality of care and future generations of working age residents can access a range of job opportunities in a diverse and growing sector of the economy. As well as jobs for care assistants, growth in this sector will generate job opportunities for medical professionals, caterers and managers as well as jobs in supply chain industries dealing with matters such as maintenance, gardening, specialist training, security and construction. Consideration of staffing capacity/availability must be considered by applicants prior to submission of planning applications.

5.55Residential institutions have the potential to accommodate a significant number of residents, employ substantial numbers of staff and receive visits from friends and family. Therefore, they are best located in accessible locations, ideally within the settlement development boundaries of the District’s more sustainable Urban Settlements and Rural Service Centres, as opposed to the Smaller Rural Settlements or remote countryside locations where there tend to be fewer local services and facilities, limited access to public transport and where the introduction of such development can often have a detrimental impact on the rural character of that community.

5.56However, the Council does recognise that it is often difficult to find areas of land large enough to accommodate larger, high quality care homes set within open grounds with gardens, landscapes and trees – which, for the quality of life for residents, is very important. Therefore, the policy encourages the development of care homes and extra-care housing within the larger residential and mixed-use allocations across the District.

5.57Secure Residential Institutions, which come under use class C2a, can include secure hospitals, detention centres and prisons. These institutions also have the potential to employ significant numbers of people but in some instances can have a detrimental impact on their immediate surroundings in terms of noise and disturbance. A more remote location may therefore be appropriate and proposals for these kinds of institutions will be considered on their own merits subject to meeting the requirements of other policies in this document and demonstrating a local need.

HMO and Bedsits

5.58A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a house occupied by three or more unrelated individuals as their only or main residence where they have individual lockable bedrooms, but where basic amenities such as a kitchen or bathroom are shared. HMOs with between three and six bedrooms fall under Class C4 of the Use Classes Order. HMOs with seven or more bedrooms are classed as ‘sui generis’. Each individual bedroom within an HMO is classed as a ‘tenancy unit’.

5.59Bedsits are dwelling houses that consist of a single room containing living accommodation and dedicated, but often basic, cooking and washing facilities (such as a cooker, microwave oven and sink) but sometimes bathroom and toilet facilities are shared by a number of bedsit occupiers. Bedsits form part of Use Class C3.

5.60The creation of HMOs and bedsits, in the majority of cases, require planning permission in line with national planning regulations. The conversion of a ‘dwelling house’ (Use Class C3) to an HMO in Use Class C4 can take place without the need for planning permission except in locations where the Local Authority has made an ‘Article 4 Direction’ to remove this permitted change. Tendring District Council has made an Article 4 Direction removing this permitted change in all parts of the District. Therefore, any proposal involving the creation of an HMO or bedsits in the Tendring District will require planning permission.

5.61The Council is concerned about the impact that an increasing number of HMOs and bedsits, both new-build proposals and the conversion of existing properties, will have on the health of residents, the economy of the District and the physical character of our towns and villages. An increasing number of large residential properties, hotels and guesthouses in central parts of our seaside towns are being lost to HMOs and bedsits, which will result in the permanent loss of valuable visitor accommodation, essential to the tourism economy, and poor living conditions and resultant health problems for tenants.

5.62Furthermore, the concentration of low-cost accommodation, particularly within town centre areas can result in a high proportion of people with personal, financial or health issues moving into the area (often from outside of the District) and being concentrated together in one area, placing undue pressure on the public services within those areas (such as doctors’ surgeries); detracting from the public perception of the area (which is all important for the purposes of attracting visitors, tourists and investors to spend money in the local economy); and, in turn, making the owners of houses, hotels and guesthouses within the area consider converting their premises into HMOs and bedsits, for rental income, rather than retaining them in their existing use.