A SHORTAGE of affordable housing in the Borders has come at a time when the gap between incomes and rent levels is widening, councillors were told this week.

The planning committee of Scottish Borders Council which met on Monday also heard that the economic recovery in the region was both “fragile and locationally sensitive” and that this was adversely impacting on the private housebuilders who are expected to provide affordable units as part of their developments.

The plight of that sector was highlighted as the committee agreed to relax its current policy which demands that, if constructing five or more homes on a single site, developers must ensure that 25% them are affordable and thus available to people on modest incomes.

Councillors agreed to raise that threshold with immediate effect from five to 17 units and to instead ask developers wishing to build fewer properties to make so-called commuted payments as a legally binding condition of planning consent.

This cash, levied at £17,000 per required affordable unit in the central Borders housing market area, will be used by the council and registered social landlords (RSLs), including Eildon, to provide affordable housing on other sites for rent or low-cost purchase. After the committee approved the new policy, Councillor Ron Smith, said: “The previous threshold often made it uneconomical for house builders to take on small sites due to the requirement for on-site affordable housing, and very small numbers of affordable homes in a development also tend to be less appealing to RSLs.

“As a result, some small sites suitable for housing development have remained undeveloped and have contributed nothing towards meeting housing need in the region.

“The hope now is that these small sites will be developed while contributing towards affordable housing through the commuted sums applied.

“The provision of affordable housing in the Borders is vital, and any way we can help provide more while providing a boost to local house builders is to be welcomed.” The new policy will be implemented despite concerns from the Eildon Housing Association which, when consulted, believed the 17-unit threshold was too high.

Eildon, the most prolific RSL in terms of providing and managing new affordable homes across the region, stated in its submission: “We would argue there is merit in considering reducing this threshold.

“We need to be mindful of the limited opportunities in some settlements to secure affordable housing and it is perfectly possible for RSLs to effectively, responsibly and economically manage very small numbers of properties within a particular development.

“We would suggest the threshold is reduced to 12 or possibly eight units [delivering three and two affordable homes on site respectively]. We recognise this could serve to make a proposed development uneconomical, but in such circumstances, there would be flexibility in how the policy is applied if the applicant was able to demonstrate the evidence.”