Policy GESP20: Accessible Homes

All housing developments must include the following proportions of accessible homes unless the applicant can demonstrate there are site specific reasons why this is not feasible: 

1. Market homes within the development: At least 25% built to M4(3a) standard, with the remainder built to M4(2) standard
2. Affordable homes within the development: At least 25% built to M4(3b) standard, with the remainder built to M4(2) standard

7.35 The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to reflect the housing needs of older people and people with disabilities in their planning policies. The Practice Guidance expands upon this in relation to planning for accessible Where there is evidence of a need for accessible housing, local planning authorities are able to set higher accessibility and adaptability standards for new homes with reference to Requirements M4(2) and M4(3) of the Building Regulations. These are reflected in draft policy GESP20, which would also apply equivalent iterations of future regulations. Part M of the Building Regulations for dwellings is summarised over page:

• M4(1) Visitable dwellings: This is the minimum standard to which all homes must comply and is often unsuitable as the home of a disabled person
• M4(2) Accessible and adaptable dwellings: This standard provides reasonable access to and around the home, meeting the requirements of occupiers with differing needs including some older or disabled people and allowing adaptation of the home to meet changing needs over time
• M4(3) Wheelchair user dwellings: This standard requires homes to be usable by residents in a wheelchair. It is split into two subsections, (a) requiring that homes are adaptable to wheelchair use and (b) requiring that they are immediately accessible

7.36 There is currently poor provision in the Greater Exeter area of homes accessible to people with disabilities. The Local Housing Needs Assessment (2nd Edition) concludes that 35% of households require some form of accessible dwelling (likely to rise to 39% by 2040 due to the ageing population), whereas only 18% of the existing housing stock is accessible. This means very unequal access to homes for someone with a disability compared with the rest of the population. In order to reduce this gap (although not close it entirely) by 2040, draft policy GESP20 proposes that all new homes should meet Building Regulations M4(2) or M4(3) unless it can be demonstrated that this is not possible due to site specific factors. When applying the percentages in the policy, requirements will be rounded to the nearest whole house. The policy differentiates between affordable and market homes because the Practice Guidance only allows the M4(3b) standard to be applied to affordable dwellings, where the local authority is responsible for allocating or nominating a person to live in that dwelling.

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