ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses attention on how planning control may presently be used to regulate the occupancy of new housing and how planning control may, in the future, be used to restrict the number of existing dwellings becoming second homes. It is not the purpose of this chapter to consider, in detail, the way in which purpose-built second homes should be planned, nor is it intended to provide an in-depth examination of what is and is not possible within a particular local area. In the 1970s, planning agreements were often used by local authorities as a means of securing ‘a contribution from developers towards the infrastructure costs’ of new housing schemes. By 1985, more than 20 structure plans contained references to specific ‘local needs policies’, that is, an explicit commitment to securing planning gains, through negotiation with developers, which emphasised the overriding importance of local housing needs.
