As part of the planning permission, a document is drawn up called a ‘section 106 agreement’. This acts a bit like a covenant on the land. In our case this will say that the dwellings are to be available for rent (only) and that they should always be offered first to people on the Homeseekers register who have a Local Connection, defined as:-
- Current Resident of Eastington Parish (3 years qualification)
- Person with local family connections, living elsewhere, wishing to return to Eastington (parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren or siblings)
- Person working in the parish wanting to live nearer their work (12 month quualification).
If more than one ‘local’ person wants a particular house, the person with the greatest need as defined on the Register will be chosen.
If no-one with an Eastington Local Connection wants a vacant home, it will be offered to our neighbouring parishes (e.g. Whitminster, Leonard Stanley etc) before going on the general Stroud DC vacancy list. Any homes that are built in our neighbouring parishes under CLT-type schemes will offer Eastington similar privileges.
See Page ‘BASICS – The Homeseekers Register’ for more detail