Maidstone council is proposing a new policy on affordable homes.

Instead of a blanket requirement that developers ought to provide 30% affordable housing at every site where there are 10 units or more across the borough - which is the policy in the existing Local Plan - the borough intends in future to divide the borough into three zones of low, medium and high value.

The high value zone covers the rural villages, the medium value zone the urban ring, while the low value zone is the town centre.

In a proposal put forward in its Local Plan Review, Maidstone proposes requiring developments in the high value zone to provide a greater degree of affordable housing - 40%. While sites in the low value zone will not be required to provide any at all.

In the medium zone, greenfield sites will be expected to provide 40%, while brownfield sites will be excused.

A council spokesman said: "An independently conducted viability testing, which is an essential component of the Local Plan Review, has confirmed that the outer urban and rural areas of the borough of Maidstone are more viable than inner urban locations.

"Brownfield sites (previously developed land), within the inner urban areas are also less viable than greenfield sites. This viability testing demonstrated that a 40% affordable housing rate can generally be achieved in outer urban and rural areas of the borough of Maidstone."

He said: "However, it has also concluded that in common with many areas, the lower value zone, which encompasses the town centre and some of the inner urban area of Maidstone, sites often struggle to deliver affordable housing on site.

"Given the above, the proposed policy seeks to acknowledge that delivery of affordable housing will not necessarily be expected in the town centre and the inner urban area of Maidstone."

But the spokesman said: "However, this does not mean that we will not be seeking affordable housing in these areas.

"The policy in fact goes on to note that, where opportunities exist to provide affordable housing, the council will seek to secure this.

"These opportunities are normally identified by way of a site specific viability assessment, which accompanies a planning application."

He said: "It may also be the case that the site specific viability assessment identifies that off-site provision or a financial contribution towards off-site affordable housing is appropriate, rather than on site provision in these locations.

"Failure to provide a level of flexibility would actually inhibit investment in the town centre by making projects unviable for the developer."

Using information gathered from its Strategic Housing Market Assessment of 2021, the council has estimated there is a need for 8,385 affordable homes between now and the end of the review period, 2037.

That's the equivalent of 559 households each year.

By comparison, between 2011 and 2019, the borough achieved 1,744 affordable - a rate of 218 units per year.

The average price paid for a house in Maidstone during September was £319,721, according to the Land Registry.

The average price for a was £178,636.

First-time buyers now pay on average £252,000 on their property – £21,000 more than a year ago.

Affordable housing is defined as property that is affordable for people who could not pay the lowest quartile of market prices.

In other words they are among the 25% worst off in society.

The Local Plan Review has just completed a six-week public consultation period.

The council received an initial 2,000 responses, although it said the final figure might be less once duplications had been weeded out.

The council may make amendments to the plan in the light of comments received before submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate for approval.