Planning guidance

Affordable Housing

Following introduction of First Homes as a new form of affordable housing by the Government in May 2021, the Council agreed at its Cabinet on 2 December 2021 to publish an Interim Planning Policy Statement to aid application of Policy H2 Affordable Housing as set out in the Hart Local Plan 2032.

First Homes Interim Planning Policy Statement 

Hart District Council Affordable Housing Informal Development Guidance

Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area

Thames Basin Heath Special Protection Area Delivery Framework 2009

Also see Policy NBE3 Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) and the supporting text in the adopted Hart Local Plan 2032.

Other Guidance

The Community Infrastructure Policy (updated August 2014) sets out the Council's requirements with new development, usually secured through Section 106 Planning Obligations, and often in the form of financial contributions.

Details of the amounts received from contributions from S106 planning obligations are set out in the Council's Infrastructure Funding Statement.

The following list provides more detail on the required contributions:

Planning Technical Advice Note - Privacy, Daylight and Sunlight: The 45 and 25 Degree Guideline

Parking Provision Interim Guidance

Illuminated Advertisements

Yateley Village Design Framework Supplementary Planning Document

​Odiham Village Design Statement

Surface Water Flooding Proforma

The surface water flooding proforma is a tool to help small scale developments meet the requirements of the Local Plan Flood Policy NBE5 d.  Part d of the flood policy requires sites at risk from any source of flooding to provide a flood risk assessment. Hart's Strategic Flood Risk Assessment has identified surface water and groundwater Indicative Flood Problem Areas where flooding from other sources is possible. These areas can be viewed on the Hart online maps under Environment. The aim of the proforma is to make a smoother planning application process for small scale developments located in areas that flood from surface water. 

You should consider using the Surface Water Flooding Proforma for sites of less than 1 ha in Flood Zone 1 that flood from surface water. You can check if your site floods from surface water by checking the Environment Agency's maps.

Please fill in the Surface Water Flooding Proforma below and submit the completed form with the rest of your planning application documents.

Causal Areas 

Causal Areas are the upstream watershed that drains into the most flood prone areas in Hart. Developments located in these areas should look to provide minor flood risk betterment so that a cumulative betterment can be achieved across the area for the most flood prone dwellings. 

You can check if your site is located in a Causal Area by using Hart District Council online maps. Causal Areas are located under the Environment Map Category.

Causal Areas Proforma

The Causal Area Proforma is a new tool to help developments that fall in a Causal Area, as identified by Hart District’s Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, meet the requirements of the Flood Policy NBE5 c. The aim of this proforma is to create a quick and simple way for developers to evidence that they are meeting the requirement of the flood policy. 

Please complete our online Causal Area Proforma to go with your planning application.  

Safe Access and Egress, Dry Islands

Developments located in Flood Zone 2 or 3 or on a dry island will need to consider access and egress issues if they are either increasing the number of dwellings or increasing the development's vulnerability category (e.g. a change of use from commercial to residential). This is to ensure that site users will not be put in danger if the proposed development could be cut off during a flood event. 

Dry Islands are areas that may be cut off during a river flood event from the wider Hart District area. While new dwellings built on a dry island will not flood directly from the rivers, site users have the potential to be cut off from the rest of the district for the duration of a flood event. Developments will therefore need to identify safe access and egress route or consider alternative means of managing these risks to site users. 

The information below should provide help and guidance to developments where access and egress is an issue:

Employment and Skills Plans

In Hart we are committed to supporting residents into employment and helping local businesses grow through access to local talent.

One way in which we can support this is through the encouragement of Employment and Skills Plans in association with new developments. The Council encourages employment and skills plans on all developments of 25 or more residential units (net) and 1,000m2 or more commercial floor space.

An Employment and Skills Plan sets out a commitment by the developer to provide employment and skills opportunities, including for example the employment of apprentices and the provision of careers advice to schools and colleges, during the construction phase of the development. The Council will assist in the preparation and implementation of the plans, along with key partners such as Hampshire County Council and Jobcentre Plus.

Further details on the Council’s approach to Employment and Skills Plans can be found in the Employment and Skills Plan Interim Policy Note agreed by Cabinet in October 2018. Here you can find draft employment and skills plan.

Further information on the key indicators targeted in an Employment and Skills Plan and other supporting information can be found on the Construction Industry Training Board website.

In conjunction with Hampshire County Council, we can provide advice and support in preparing and implementing plans. For further information please contact us via economic.development@hart.gov.uk.