To incentivise development of brownfield sites containing vacant buildings, the Vacant Building Credit (VBC) was introduced by the Government in 2014 and later included in the National Planning Policy Guidance. In essence, where a vacant building is brought back into residential use through a new development, or is demolished to be replaced by new residential units, the applicant should be offered a financial credit when any affordable housing contribution that is required for the site is calculated.
Provision for the VBC is now a material consideration in making planning decisions and the council will take this into account in determining future planning applications where relevant.
The Vacant Building Credit Advisory Note was agreed by Cabinet on Thursday 27 September 2018 and introduced for use with immediate effect.
The advisory note, which explains the council’s approach to applying VBC will be kept under review.