Local Housing Needs Assessment

The Council is looking to commission a Local Housing Needs Assessment (LHNA) study to help inform our new Local Plan, the document which will set out the vision for future development in the Borough over the next 20 years.

The successful bidder will be required to undertake a LHNA in accordance with the NPPF and the accompanying Planning Practice Guidance on housing needs. The LHNA will help the Council determine the need for market and affordable housing across the Borough. The LHNA will also include the need for specialist forms of housing such as housing for older people (sheltered, enhanced sheltered, extra care and care home beds across all tenures), HMOs, large-scale purpose-built shared living, self-build and custom build, student accommodation, households with disabilities and wheelchair requirements, reablement accommodation, existing and potential hostel users, service personnel, family housing and private renting households including build to rent schemes.

In addition, the study will inform the breakdown (size, type, tenure) of affordable (we call this community housing), and market housing.

The LHNA should be a robust evidence base document to inform planning policies and able to withstand scrutiny at the relevant stages of public consultation and subsequent public examination. It must take into account not only the national, but also London-wide planning policies, as well as ongoing national planning reforms and Government consultations on relevant issues.