Planning Consultants, Land Owners and House Builders

COMPELLING
IN-DEPTH 
RELIABLE

Key Features of our housing needs surveys and assessments for Planning Consultants, Land Owners and House builders:

• Robust work designed to succeed at planning appeals;
• significant experience of rural exceptions and entry level exception projects;
• experience of working in the national parks and AoNB;
• knowledge of local plan and neighbourhood plan policies; and
• we work across England and Wales.

Why CNB Housing Insights? 

Our Housing Needs Survey methodology has been fine tuned in the light of experience at planning appeals yet our low company overheads mean that we can offer exceptional value for money.

Our Housing Needs Survey methodology fully complies with Government Practice Guidance 'Housing Needs Assessments: A Guide to Good Practice'.  Very few practitioners base their work on this guidance. HNS reports cannot be robust unless this guidance is followed. 

Proofs of evidence, statements of case and rebuttals are strengthened by cross referencing to Government Practice Guidance 'Housing Needs Assessments: A Guide to Good Practice'. 

Our methodology specifically researches need and demand for affordable home ownership as defined by the NPPF and NPPG 2021.

Our reports are crafted to ensure that detailed and compelling evidence is produced and is placed in a local planning policy context.

We have experience of working across England and Wales and urban, rural and inner-city environments. We have been able to demonstrate that need for exception sites exists even in areas of housing growth as we fully understand and explore the dynamics of need and supply affecting local people.  Get in touch to find out more about this innovative approach.

We are happy to work on a standalone basis or as part of a delivery team.

If Local Planning Authority (LPA) policy requirement for evidence to support a planning application does not specify a Housing Need Survey, but still seeks evidence of need, we also offer Local Housing Needs Assessments (HNA). The difference between a housing needs survey and a housing needs assessment is that an assessment does not involve an expensive household survey.  They are purely desktop research projects (based on the above mentioned practice guidance) drawing on readily available evidence and occasionally Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the LPA and the Local Help to Buy agent via Homes England.  Housing Needs assessments can support planning statements and would usefully support applications to the LPA for sites to be designated for residential use under the local plan.  We think that HNA projects will be particularly powerful when Census 2021 data is fully released.

Chris and Nicola on more recent projects have worked with numerous house builders and planning consultants  at locations including including Ashley Green, Barrow, Broughton, Burton upon Trent, Calvert Green, Castle Donington, Christleton, Corbridge, Coupe Green, Dummer, Eakring, Henfield, Hibaldstow, Kings Forest, Leeming Bar, Long Ashton, Mary Tavey, Pamber Green, Pawlet, Pegswood, Pickering, Plungar, Ponteland, Prudhoe, Redmile, Sarratt, Ufford and Weaverham. 
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