Strategic housing market assessment

The Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) provides evidence on:

• the role of the Wakefield housing market and its connection with other housing market areas
• the need for market and affordable housing in the district
• how the distribution of need and demand varies across the plan area
• evidence about the need for different types of tenure across the district (including different types of affordable tenures)
• future demographic trends to identify the accommodation requirements of specific groups

The Strategic Housing Market Assessment Update 2019 will be used to inform housing policy and was an important piece of evidence which supported the Wakefield District Local Plan as it was prepared.  The assessment should be used by applicants when preparing planning applications and will be used by the Council when determining planning applications, particularly in relation to affordable housing and housing mix. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2016 should also be referred to where it contains evidence not updated by the 2019 report.