Housing and census data

There is a lot to look at on this tab so make sure you get to the end, here is a list to entice you on

Statistics

Comments from the consultations

The Housing Survey - letter and summary

An overall report on housing in the parish

Statistics

St Mary Bourne Parish	2001 Census	2011 Census
Usual resident population	1,226	1,298
Males	618	647
Females	608	651
0-9	131	146
10-15	92	94
16-19	45	44
20-29	80	86
30-44	268	226
45-59	316	346
60-74	200	247
75-89	78	93
90+	13	6
Total dwellings	554	563
Total households	535	543
Owned total households	360	371
Shared ownership households	4	6
Social rented total households	71	77
Private rented households	77	75
Households living rent free	27	14
Owned (Persons)	849	904
Shared ownership (Persons)	11	14
Social rented (Persons)	149	164
Private rented (Persons)	164	183
Households living rent free (Persons)	70	31

	2001		2011
0-9	10.7%		11.2%
10-19	11.2%		11.4%
20-29	6.5%		6.6%
30-64	54.7%		52.5%
65+	16.8%		18.3%

Over the last 15 years :    40 - 44 additional houses have been built  

                                  10 Major re-builds of existing houses

                                     3 larger developments of new housing

Comments from the consultations

At the first consultation meeting back in April 2012 this subject raised the greatest number of comments. So it is obviously important to many of you. 
The majority of comments were in relation to provision of affordable housing. 
Most people were surprised at the number of additional new houses that had been built in the last 15 years.

At the second meeting in November 2012  it became apparent that  there were a good number of people who would like to downsize but there was a lack of smaller housing available, or would be interested in sheltered accommodation.  Movement in the housing market is important to free up housing for growing families. 

The Housing Survey - letter and summary     

A Housing Survey was carried out in November 2013

The short questionnaire went to all the letter boxes in the parish in November  2013 and here extracts from the accompanying letter from the Chairman of the Long Term Planning Group  

Dear Residents of St Mary Bourne, Stoke, Binley, Wadwick, Egbury, the Wykes and Little London

As you will be aware, from previous letters of invitation to consultation evenings, our Group has been working on a Plan for the Future of the Parish, intended to set down planning guidelines  for the next 15 years.  Our work has been, unfortunately, somewhat slowed down by the unexpected delay in the proposed  Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council’s overall Local Plan. 

However, our Plan is now registered as “The Neighbourhood Plan for St Mary Bourne Parish” and the Community Development Foundation has given us a grant to complete the work, part of which is a housing survey.   This survey is a critical component of the Plan, as it will help to define the needs within the community for housing and its types.  For example, we need to hear from people who would like a little more space to accommodate a growing family, or who might prefer to downsize after retirement.

Attached you will find a questionnaire which we hope will provide us with valuable evidence as to the type of future housing requirement there is in the Parish.  You may not have any different wishes or needs for housing, but please complete the survey anyway, as the fact that you require no change is an important part of the evidence. 

.......

Finally, as an added incentive to complete the questionnaire, a number will be drawn from all the returned Unique Digit Code numbers, and the household with the winning number will receive £50 to spend at the Village Shop. 

A summary of the results of the survey:

Thanks to all who completed the survey in November. This short summary gives a quick overview of the results: more details will be posted online later (paper copies available).

Main conclusions

 Just over half the Parish participated: 298 replies from 565 surveys

 The mix of replies tilts towards owners rather than renters, but the latter are quite well represented

 Age-wise we seem to be a Parish with more middle-aged and older people (census data seems to say the same).

 There is demand for new housing and most responders support this, but there is a group opposed to building.

 Brownfield sites are preferred for new builds and small developments in the hamlets were supported.

Respondents

77% of the responders were owner-occupiers, with 16% renting and 4% in shared ownership, so with some 80 properties owned by the housing association and 75 from private landlords, this tilts towards owner-occupiers.

90% of responses were from households with 4 or fewer inhabitants.

Looking at age, responses were weighted to the 35-60+ range, which is quite wide, but 150 people were reported in the lower ranges.

Demand

22% of the responders said that someone in the household would need their own accommodation within 5 years. This group was 65 in number.

The vast majority of the responses related to 1 or 2 people, seeking new accommodation.

Of those wanting to move, half wanted to stay in the Parish but a further 29% were not sure.

Type of accommodation

Turning to type of accommodation needed, the weightings were for 1 bed (20%), 2 bed (61%) and 3 bed (14%).

This group was seeking a mix of accommodation type, with 42% preferring affordable and 16% sheltered. Cutting the pie differently, around 60% were looking for a property to own and the balance to rent. This suggests that some responders wanted to own an affordable property.

New homes

A significant minority, 30%, thought there was no need for new building, but the main weighting was for a similar rate of new homes as in the last 15 years. 23% thought 10 new units would be enough, 34% favoured up to 20 and 13% would accept 50 or more.

Assessing the replies by type of home proposed was made difficult as people could tick several categories, but the three which stood out were affordable housing (151 votes), small family homes (148 votes), homes for elderly people (225 votes) plus a notable 25 votes for people with special needs.

Locations

If new houses are to be built, the preferences were tilted clearly towards brownfield (84%) and with a preference for being adjacent to existing units. Greenfield sites got 35 votes, compared with 236 for brownfield.

There was strong support for small developments in the hamlets (Stoke, Binley, Egbury, the Wykes) with 72% voting Yes and 28% No.

An overall report on housing in the Parish

  

1.       Introduction

The parish has a distinctive character but has changed over the last 15 years due to external social and economic factors as well as changes to agricultural subsidy and other events such as fire damage. There were approximately 39 new houses built in the period 1994-2013 with an additional 16 rebuilt. This figure includes 7 Affordable Houses for rent, all in Hirst Copse.

2.       Population Changes

The population of the parish has declined slightly from 1,300 in 1985 to 1,226 in 2005 and is estimated to be around 1261 by 2015. In 2008 the ‘20-34’ age group was given as 157 persons but is predicted to fall to 151 by 2015; conversely, there were 102 ‘Over 75s’ in 2008 but this is likely to rise to 140  in 2015, illustrating the trend of an ageing population.

The 2001 Census listed 554 dwellings in St Mary Bourne but only 534 households. Of those, 360 households were owner-occupied and 69 households rented from the Council/ Housing Associations; only 4 other dwellings were listed as second or holiday residences.  The 2011 Census shows 1298 usual residents, with a total of 563 dwellings occupied by 543 households implying that there are still a similar number of dwellings either vacant or used as second homes.  77 households live in Social/Affordable Rentals, 6 in Shared Ownership, 75 living in Private Rented accommodation and 14 living Rent Free. This leaves 371 as Owner-Occupier households (68%).

3.       New Build Developments in the last 15 years

New, multi-unit private developments creating 26 new homes:

a.       Stud Farm: conversion of redundant farm buildings to semi-detached houses (2x3 bed, 4x2 bed).

b.      Fairwood : dwelling demolished and replaced with flats (4x2 bed) built 2004.

c.       The Forge: conversion of the Forge and erection of 4 new houses (2 x 2 bed, 3 x 4 bed) built 2011.

d.      Jamaica Farm: conversion of agricultural buildings to add 5 semi-detached houses (3x3 bed, 2x2 bed) to the existing 3 units, built 2007.

e.      Hirst Copse: erection of six new houses with shared ownership (3x3 bed, 3x2 bed) built 1997.

4.       Replacement Dwellings built in the last 15 years

The trend has been to demolish smaller dwellings and build much larger replacements. Of the 16 dwelling rebuilt since 1994, most have been greatly enlarged and 5 have had an additional dwelling e.g. separate flat, approved as part of their planning consent.

Affordable Housing Stock

a.       Four housing associations operate rentable properties in the village with Sovereign Housing Association (an Industrial and Provident Society which has charitable status and operates on a not-for-profit basis) owning the vast majority, 67. There are 82 units in total, of which 11 are flats, 33 are bungalows and 38 are houses. Of the 82 units, only  the 16 units in Hirst Copse have specific local connection requirements (written into two Section 106 agreements); the rest form part of the general housing stock allocated via the Choice Based Letting Scheme operated by Basingstoke & Deane Council . Of these, 7 have changed tenant since 2010 with 5 going to those with a local connection as of Jan 2014.

b.      There are nine shared ownership homes in Hirst Copse, 3 owned by English Rural Housing and 6 owned by Rural Housing Trust: two of these were up for resale in 2012 but did not end up being sold to those with a local connection. Part of the problem with Shared Ownership properties is that mortgages are increasingly difficult to obtain. Natwest Bank offers Shared Equity mortgages but they are granted on a case-by-case basis. A part-owner may build up their equity share over time to a maximum of 80%, making the property more expensive when sold on as equity cannot be bought back by the Housing Association part owner. In addition, percentage ownership of the freeholds of these properties varies which means part-owners have to pay monthly ground rent and insurance fees as well as mortgage payments, which can become prohibitively expensive.

c.       Of the 7 rentable properties in Hirst Copse, 4 are owned by Sovereign Housing Association, 3 are owned by English Rural Housing but all are rented to those with a local connection.

d.      There are 4 Alms houses known as Holdway Cottages maintained by a charity formed by benefactor Sarah Holdway in the 1860s. Local people can apply with preference given to ladies over men or married couples; all applicants must be over the age of 55. Residents have lifelong tenure as long as they can be cared for in their own house. Each household pays a weekly maintenance contribution including the cost of heating oil.

5.       Affordable Housing  Lettings Procedure

Households may bid for new affordable housing and priority is awarded according to the points system (below) devised by HARAH - Hampshire Alliance for Rural Affordable. HARAH aims to enable people on modest incomes but with strong local connections to remain living within or return to their parish which helps to maintain a mixed community.  Anyone 16 years or over, with recourse to public funds and who has the right to reside in the UK can go on the housing register. They may bid on a specific property on the Homebid website then ordered in levels of priority. They are asked about their financial situation: Housing Associations with charitable status will be more rigorous in this as they cannot house anyone who can house themselves or who owns a property already.  HHH  Those with a proven local connection are given 10 points over those that don’t have one. The needs banding, according to the criteria below, then set their position in the bids list.

a.       10 points are awarded according to the following categories of need:

Overcrowding; Roofless or ‘sofa surfing’; Threatened with homelessness; Shared accommodation; Welfare or social reasons; Medical, mental or physical reasons; Leaving tied accommodation; Unsuitable accommodation; Transfers.

Band 1 Band 2 Band 3 Band 4 Band 5

Critical 50+ points 30-40 points 10-20 points No points

b.       There were 21 applicant households representing 39 people on the St Mary Bourne register as at 16/12/11, all in Bands 3 and 4. Seven applicants required 1-2 bed flats, ten required 2-3 bed flats or houses and four required 1-2 bed bungalows. These applicants will have been on the list for a period of between 1 and 8 years.

On 07/11/13 there were 19 applicant households, all in Bands 3 and 4. Five required 1 bed flats, three required a 2 bed bungalow, six required a 2 bed house, three required a 3 bed house, one required a 4 bed house a one required sheltered housing.

c.       The Parish Council is conducting ongoing discussions with HARAH to enable additional affordable housing to be built in the parish. Note that in the 2005 Parish Plan, quotes from the questionnaire distributed to parishioners stated ‘over thirty people wanted more affordable, starter or smaller houses being built with some requesting more shared ownership schemes.’ In addition, ‘several people mentioned Hirst Copse positively and suggested the idea is copied in the future to provide affordable housing’.

d.      There is currently no proposal for sheltered housing in St Mary Bourne. Sovereign is reviewing its Housing Support but with changes to Supporting People grants from HCC, the provision of Extra Care is less certain.

6.       Changes to Tenure and  Affordability of Affordable Housing

Governmental changes to benefits and the rents charged by housing associations under the Affordable Homes Programme 2011-2015 meant that from 2012 tenants renting a housing association property for the first time and those moving from one to another may not have the automatic right to stay in that property for life, but only a limited period of 2-5 years. They will also lose the right to pass their tenancies on to their children.

b. ‘Affordable’ rents can now be up to 80% of market value rather than the 45-50% guide used previously for ‘Social’ rents. Benefits may then not cover rental payments entirely meaning that many people will need to move to cheaper/ smaller properties within the scheme. All Housing Associations have policies governing which properties should be charged at maximal rents and these can be viewed on the B&D website. For example, a 2 bed bungalow in St Mary Bourne is still currently let under the original, Social Rent tariff of £116.87 per week whereas a 2 bed flat has been re-let under the new Affordable Rent tariff £126 per week  i.e. higher rent commanded for a smaller property.

c. Government rules implemented in January 2013 state that new 5 year tenancies will not be renewed where under-occupation of a property exists by at least 2 bedrooms. (The same rule applies where there has been anti-social behaviour, where household income is greater than £60,000 or where a significant adaptation to the home is no longer required). This could force people to leave what was their family home to free up larger properties for families. It will particularly affect older residents and may increase the demand for Sheltered Housing in the Parish (see below).

d. The Government ‘Spare Bedroom Tax’ came into force in April 2013 where those in AH with unoccupied bedrooms now receive a reduction in their Housing Benefit Allowance (HBA):

1 spare bed        =14% reduction

2 spare beds      =25% reduction

3+ spare beds    =up to a maximum of 61.25% reduction.

These households are give overriding priority on Homebid to encourage them to move and free up larger properties for larger families.

e. There is also a discrepancy between what Homebid  (B&DDC) sees as an acceptable maximum age for siblings of different sex to share a room (5 years) and what Government sees as acceptable (10 years) which means that a family may be eligible to bid for a 4 bed house on Homebid (average rental up to £1100 pcm) but may only get HBA for a 3 bed (up to £817 pcm) until their children are older. This gap in affordability may explain why AH ‘Need’ does not always match uptake by eligible families and why they languish on ‘Need’ registers.

7.       Private Housing Stock

Analysis of prices of houses sold in SMB during 2005-2011 shows 68 units sold, with a price range from £135,000 to £2,250,000. One house was sold in Jan 2005 for £275,000 and then sold again in May 2008 for £347,500, a rise of 26%. Average sale prices are given as examples below:

Beds 2 3 4 5

Price 2005 £204,000 £323,000 £416,000

2007 £261,000 £325,000 £499,000

2009 £253,000 £282,000 £975,000

2011 £287,000 £290,000 £577,000

2012 243,000 366,000 820,000

2013 213,000 486,000 558,000

Land Registry figures for sales of private housing in St Mary Bourne in the last 15 years can be accessed via http://house-prices.landregistry.gov.uk/sold-prices/St+Mary Bourne +, averaged in a different way in the table below.  Number of bedrooms per property is not specified and sample sizes are not big.

Average Sale Price per type of property (£1000s )	Detached	Semi	Terrace	Flat	Other
Year of Sale 1997	224.9	98.8	82.8	42	-
2000	237	167.5	153	-	-
2003	538.6	208.6	143	-	-
2006	319	334.3	226	182	-
2009	673	-	236.7	-	-
2012	593	283.8	331.6	-	157.950
2013	510	230	208	-	-

Certain economic trends are backed up by two examples of private housing sold several times over the last 15 years. One property, a thatched, detached 3 bed house was sold in 1997 for £270,000; in 2001 for £420,000 and was recently on the market for £695,000. Another example is a terraced thatched 2 bed property sold in 1997 for £95,800; in 2005 for £249,500 and recently sold for £219,950.

Regarding Shared Ownership Housing, a steady rise in price is easily identified as two properties in Hirst Copse have changed hands twice in the last 15 years, although the percentage of the property bought outright at each sale is not clear (n.b. equity can be bought up to 80% of market value). Number 2 was sold in 2003 for £108,500 and again in 2005 for £151,200; Number 11 was sold in 2005 for £135,000 and again in 2012 for £157,950

8.       Privately-Owned Housing Finance

The average cost of a 2 bed house in St Mary Bourne is now £287,000 but affordable 5-10% LTV mortgages are now rare. Until December 2012 first time buyers could secure a 90% LTV mortgage at a rate of 4.79% fixed for 2 years from Natwest Bank but this offer has been withdrawn. A rate of  6.09% with a fee of £995 would make monthly mortgage fees on an interest only basis, before additional repayment fees, £1310 per month on the example above (rates can change on a daily basis). This is beyond the financial reach of most young people.

In Spring 2013 B&DBC announced the ‘Lend a Hand’ mortgage scheme for first time buyers in the borough with a 5% deposit.  £1million was set aside to help around 30 buyers onto the property ladder in conjunction with Lloyds TSB. The maximum loan of £238,000 was  subject to Lloyds’ usual lending criteria with the council providing a cash backed indemnity of up to 20% as additional security while earning interest on the amount deposited. The buyer then owns the property and has access to lower rates of interest (4.4%) than would normally apply. This scheme was aimed at helping those living in rented accommodation or with parents.

‘Help to Buy’ Mortgages/Equity Loans guarantees

At Budget 2013, the Government announced Help to Buy, a package of measures to increase access to low deposit mortgages to credit-worthy households and stimulate house building. The Help to Buy package will run for 3 years until 21 December 2016 and has two parts: the equity loan and the mortgage guarantee scheme.

1. The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme can help you buy a newly built home or existing property anywhere in the UK with a deposit of as little as 5%. The scheme works by offering lenders the option to purchase a guarantee on mortgages where a borrower has a deposit of between 5% and 20%. Borrowers remain fully responsible for their mortgage payments and any shortfall in the normal way. Borrowers apply for a mortgage through participating banks and building societies or through a mortgage broker. To qualify for the mortgage guarantee scheme, buyers must pass lender affordability checks and have no history of difficulties in meeting debt payments. The mortgage must be a residential mortgage not a buy-to-let mortgage; the purchase value must be £600,000 or less; the mortgage must be taken out on a repayment basis, rather than interest-only; the scheme can be used for remortgaging.
2. With a Help to Buy equity loan, the government loans up to 20% of the cost of a new-build home, so only  a 5% deposit is needed and a 75% mortgage makes up the rest. Help to Buy equity loans are open to both first-time buyers and home movers on new-build homes worth up to £600,000. You cannot sublet your home, and you must not own any other property at the time of purchasing your Help to Buy: Equity Loan home. Part Exchange deals are also not approved.  Loan fees are not charged for the first 5 years of home ownership. In the 6th year, a fee of 1.75% of the loan’s value is charged. After this, the fee will increase every year. The increase is worked out by using the Retail Prices Index plus 1%.

Example of a purchase with an equity loan scheme	Cost	Percentage
Property purchase price	£200,000	-
Your mortgage	£150,000	75%
Equity loan	£40,000	20%
Cash deposit	£10,000	5%

If the home in the table above sold for £210,000, you’d get £168,000 (80%, from your mortgage and the cash deposit) and pay back £42,000 on the loan (20%). You’d need to pay off your mortgage with your share of the money.

9.       Private Rents

As of 21.04.13 only 3 properties were available to rent in St Mary Bourne parish. 3x3beds, ranging from £800-1100 per calendar month (pcm) and a 1x1bed flat @£575pcm. Two spare rooms were available at £80 per week (pw) for a single and £85pw for a double in the same property.

On 15.01.14 a different 3 properties were available to rent in St Mary Bourne Parish, all 3 beds priced from £845-995pcm (£195-£230pw).

10.   Future Housing Need : Private , Affordable and Sheltered

30 additional residences have been identified as the number sufficient to sustain growth within the village for the next 15 years i.e. the life of this plan. The Village Design Statement adopted in 2005 should remain the blueprint for new developments. There are enough brownfield sites within the existing building footprint which would allow new units to be integrated into the heart of St Mary Bourne, Stoke and/or selected sites within the hamlets. Greenfield sites should not be needed. Practical constraints include:

a.       The linear nature of the parish

b.      Conservation Area rules

c.       Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty rules

d.      Flood plain regulations

e.      Utilities provision

f.        Traffic flow to certain facilities e.g. school, surgery.

Affordable Housing should be a part of this development but exact needs and formats should be researched more thoroughly in the context of the limited options for the mass of units which must be located on one site according to Housing Association Developers. It could be argued that no more Affordable Housing should be built until current stock is updated and AH sites better utilised e.g. Gangbridge Lane horseshoe.

A great need for Sheltered housing for those over 65 years old has also been identified by an anecdotal survey completed jointly by the parish chaplaincy and doctor’s surgery. Over a 10 year period, 61 people aged over 65 years old died in the parish. Of those, it was considered that 12 would have benefitted from moving into sheltered accommodation close to their relatives in the parish but without the worry of managing their own property. They would have been better served by moving into sheltered accommodation for the last years of their lives.

11.   Brownfield/other Change of Use Sites Available

a.       What is available? Currently under investigation

b.      B&D plan assessment/allowances

12.   Infrastructure Assessment

It is clear that some parts of St Mary Bourne are without an effective freshwater and sewerage system so developments will have to be restricted to other areas. The road system is also a constraint and over a longer period of time traffic flow will mitigate development.  Any new house built now has to have two off-road parking spaces, which should decrease the impact of traffic on further development.

See elsewhere in Plan for:

a.       Mains water

b.      Sewerage

c.       Power

d.    Roads/parking

13. Basingstoke &Deane District Council Core Plan

This is for 9,500 new houses in B&D up to 2027, refers to the new local plan and is still a matter for Planning Policy to deal with. There was a report to Planning and infrastructure Committee on 17^th January dealing with site assessments and suggested sites allocations for the emerging Local Plan. This made no specific reference to St Mary Bourne is terms of site allocations although reference is made to 350 units for local determination at Whitchurch. In terms of current policy the relevant policies are those saved policies from the adopted local plan i.e. policy C2 (affordable housing) and policy D8 (rural exceptions housing) plus the Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) from July 2007 which provides further details on policies and proposals within the adopted local plan. There is also the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) of March 2012 which until a new local plan is adopted will carry increasing policy / decision weight from March 2013. This has a presumption in favour of sustainable development and in terms of rural areas should be responsive to local circumstances, reflecting local needs particularly for affordable housing provision including through rural exception sites where appropriate. It should also be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities. 350 will be built in Whitchurch, of which 40% will be affordable; delivered up to 2016/17

a.       Policy stipulates that there should be a mix of housing and this should achieve “balanced and sustainable communities”.

b.      Village design statements are specifically to be taken into account when Neighbourhood Plans are developed

c.       Buildings or sites outside the designated residential area may be utilised either to create employment of for housing, subject to a number of qualifications

14.   Section 106 Agreements

These planning obligations are legal agreements between the planning authority and the developer and any others that may have an interest in the land. It requires the developer to provide a financial contribution, physical infrastructure or a management plan in relation to their development proposals or may restrict what can be done with land following development.  The borough council will consider the cumulative impact of all new residential and non-residential development on community resources and contributions will be sought for

a.       A net increase of one dwelling or more

b.      Commercial developments of >100m squared

c.       Other non-residential developments which may be required to  contribute to transport improvements

St Mary Bourne has generated £45,882.77 in Section 106 Developer contributions from 4 sites since 2003. Some of this money has been spent directly in the parish on play areas and equipment and improvements to roads. Most of the remainder of the money can only be used on improvements to highways, footways, cycle schemes, but can go towards

a.       Community open spaces/ play areas

b.      Education – childrens services facilities

c.       Protection of parks and open spaces

d.      Planting trees and maintaining them

e.      Contributions to the enhancement of transport infrastructure

f.        Affordable housing within a development

S106 Agreements do not appear to cover sewerage, drainage or any other utilities improvements but in the near future, S106 monies are changing to a Community Infrastructure Levy which will go back into an account centrally controlled by B&DDC.

          

Any comments on what you have just read? Any thoughts or suggestions? Anything worrying you about local housing?  Please comment in the box below ...