John Wacher

• Affordable Housing
• Housing Delivery
• S106 planning obligations
• Community Infrastructure Levy
• Development Viability
• Local and Strategic Planning
• Public subsidy and public land
• National policy and guidance

• Member of Royal Town Planning Institute (Chartered Town Planner) – Member of National Policy, Practice and Research Committee (2017-2019)
• Member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Chartered Surveyor)

• John has overseen affordable housing and S106 negotiations for strategic developments at the GLA over a nine year period including schemes with a high proportion of affordable housing within the London Legacy Development Corporation area, Bishopsgate Goodsyard and Graham Park Estate.
• John was lead officer overseeing the viability case for the landmark appeal at the Territorial Army site, Parkhurst Road (2015-2017). This helped to address the ‘circularity issue’ in which the price paid for land was used as a fixed cost input inevitably leading to a reduction in affordable housing delivery. The case was subject to a High Court judgment which resulted in key revisions to national and professional guidance.
• John is currently helping to draft affordable housing guidance for a District Council, analysing national and local policy, and housing need evidence. His role involves drafting guidance and making recommendations on issues such as affordable housing thresholds, tenure, affordability and eligibility criteria, unit size mix and design, affordable housing requirements for different residential development types, vacant building credit, engagement with registered providers, affordable housing grant and variations to planning obligations.

• John played a key role in developing the Mayor of London’s Affordable Housing and Viability Supplementary Planning Guidance (2017) and affordable housing policies in the London Plan (2021). This included the threshold approach/ Fast Track Route which has helped to secure a near doubling of affordable housing in strategic applications and the highest number of affordable housing completions in London for sixteen years. The threshold approach also helped to speed up the planning process and ensure that planning policies are reflected in land values.
• He also oversaw the first guidance on viability published by a planning authority, the principles of which were adopted in London, national and professional guidance.

• John is a chartered town planner and chartered surveyor, and a recognised expert in affordable housing, developer contributions, development viability, developer contributions, including S106 and CIL, and land value capture.
• Having played a key role in affordable housing policy in the planning system in London and nationally, and set up and led the GLA viability team over the last nine years he is uniquely placed to advise public authorities and organisations in these areas.
• He has also helped to develop guidance and worked to ensure that affordable housing delivery is maximised through both the planning system and Affordable Homes Programmes.
• He was GLA lead for government policy on affordable housing and developer contributions, contributing to responses on the National Planning Policy Framework, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, the Building Safety Levy and various Select Committee Inquiries.
• He provides strategic advice, training and related consultancy services on housing delivery, affordable housing, developer contributions, viability, review mechanisms, and public subsidy, relating to national, regional and local policy, guidance and applications.
• He is also experienced in affordable housing delivery on public land working with a range of organisations and development corporations, and well as spatial planning work for strategic development sites.
• He also has significant experience supporting planning authorities through the London Authorities Viability Group and can undertake end to end reviews of affordable, infrastructure and developer contributions policies and practices to enable authorities to secure affordable housing and infrastructure to address housing need and support sustainable development.

Officer and member training, capacity building and workshops on:

• Planning for affordable housing
• Housing and infrastructure delivery
• Developer contributions including S106, CIL, building safety levy
• Development viability, including area wide/ Strategic and Local Plan testing and site specific viability and review mechanisms
• Strategic/ local planning and land value capture

John has more than a twenty years of experience working for unitary and regional planning authorities. As lead S106 and CIL officer at a unitary authority his experience includes working across departments, organisations and agencies to identify, plan for and fund community infrastructure delivery, including transport, education and health to support the delivery of sustainable development across the area. This will be an important skill set for planning authorities moving to a unitary structure.

He is well placed to advise on the relationship between strategic and local planning having co-authored and Strategic Spatial Strategies, Local plans, and regional and local guidance. He has also implemented this through the development management process and Mayoral powers and through working with borough planners as chair of the London Authorities Viability Group.

He also has significant experience of Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy having sat on the MCIL steering group, and led on the Islington CIL, giving evidence at and steering this through the Examination process.

Long/ Short Term or Interim (part time)

LinkedIn:

John Wacher, Planning for Affordable Housing

Other Useful Links:

Affordable Housing and Viability Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) | London City Hall

The London Plan 2021 | London City Hall

Affordable Housing and Housing Delivery in Applications Referred to the Mayor of London