Policy H/CL: Co-living

1. Proposals for

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments (sui generis) will be supported, where the proposal meets all of the following requirements: 

  a. Developments will be located in sustainable, highly accessible areas that are well connected to local services and employment by active travel or public transport, and where the development does not contribute to car dependency, and parking can be minimised reflecting the high level of accessibility. 

  b. Developments must be of good quality, well designed and contribute towards mixed and inclusive neighbourhoods. Schemes will not be supported where they result in an over concentration of this type of tenure within an area or harm the overall mix of housing to meet needs. 

  c. Developments will be of a moderate scale of between 50 and 200 units. A higher number of units will only be considered where need is clearly demonstrated. Financial contributions may be sought to mitigate pressures on services, should evidence of need be demonstrated. 

  d. The private units will provide suitable functional living space and layouts and must not be self-contained homes or capable of being used as self-contained homes. A sufficient proportion of the units must be designed to be accessible and adaptable (taking account of Policy H/SS: Residential space standards and accessible homes) so that they are accessible and usable by those who have minimal mobility. 

  e. To meet the requirements of the intended number of residents, at a minimum services and facilities will include private en-suite studio rooms, internal communal space, external communal space, laundry and drying facilities, on site management, maintenance and cleaning services, a reception service, and large item and cycle storage provision. 

  f. Public open space provision will be provided in accordance with Policy BG/EO: Providing and Enhancing Open Space. 

  g. Buildings will be designed and managed in a way that lowers barriers to social interaction, encourages engagement between people and creates a sense of community. 

  h. The

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

development must be under a single management company or operator and have an agreed Management Plan. 

  i. All units will be available for rent, with minimum tenancies of three months. 

National planning policy requires the size, type and tenure of homes needed for different groups in the community, including those who rent their homes, to be assessed and that the results of that assessment be reflected in planning policies.

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments are becoming more popular, and can respond to a need by providing an alternative type of accommodation for single-person households to living in self- contained homes, houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or flat shares. Whilst not currently commonplace in

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

, developers are seeking pre-application advice on proposals for co-living developments, and therefore the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

needs to be clear how these proposals will be considered. 

This refers to development in its widest sense, including buildings, and streets, spaces and places. It also refers to both redevelopment, including refurbishment, as well as new development.

of

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

units will be directed to the most sustainable areas of

The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

, well connected to active travel routes, public transport links and services. Therefore, car use will not be relied on, and onsite car parking should be kept to a minimum. Details of any proposed car parking should be submitted with the planning application with justification of provision. New proposals should not result in over- concentration of

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

units within an area or harm the delivery of a mix of housing to meet needs, and should contribute towards creating mixed and inclusive neighbourhoods. 

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments are generally of at least 50 units, to allow for the provision of the additional on-site services and facilities. There is currently no clear guidance on the maximum number of units. Considering

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

units are likely to be used on a transitional basis, unless there is clear evidence of need for a higher number of units, developments will be restricted to a maximum of 200 units. This is because

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments should not compromise the delivery of self-contained homes. 

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments must be well-designed and provide functional internal living spaces and external amenity spaces for their residents. Proposals should consider the internal and external residential space standards set out in Policy H/SS: Residential space standards and accessible homes. For example, the internal residential spaces standards set out in Policy H/SS include specific requirements for the floorspace of bedrooms, which could be applied to

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments, if the internal communal areas provided the remainder of the internal space standard requirements. Additionally, as

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments have a similar format to HMOs in that they have communal areas such as kitchens, proposals should also consider the minimum size standards related to internal communal areas such as kitchens set out in licensing standards for HMOs (see Policy H/MO: Houses in Multiple Occupation). 

A proportion of units should be designed to be accessible and adaptable for those who have minimal mobility, taking account of the requirements set out in Policy H/SS: Residential space standards and accessible homes. 

Tenancies should be for a minimum of three months to ensure large-scale purpose-built shared living developments do not effectively operate as a hostel. 

Policy BG/EO: Providing and Enhancing Open Space is used to signpost the requirements for public open space. Proposals specifically for co-living units will be required to contribute towards the delivery of affordable housing in line with Policy H/AH: Affordable housing. 

Management of

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments by a single management company or operator, with an appropriate level of on-site daily management, will minimise any community risks arising from the development, and ensure that schemes are well-integrated into the community. A Management Plan showing how the whole development will be managed and maintained must be produced and submitted with the planning application, and the agreed Management Plan should be secured through a Section 106 agreement. The Management Plan should include, but not be limited to, detailed information on long term management and maintenance arrangements, such as: 

  a. measures in place to manage any issues arising that could impact on amenity in the surrounding area, 

  b. security and fire safety procedures, 

  c. move in and move out arrangements, 

  d. how all internal and external areas of the development will be maintained, 

  e. how communal spaces and private units will be cleaned and how linen changing services will operate, 

  f. how deliveries for servicing the development and residents’ deliveries will be managed, and 

  g. tenancies, including that sub-letting is not permitted. 

Buildings should be designed and managed in a way that lowers barriers to social interaction and encourages engagement between people, such as: 

• incidental meeting spaces should be provided in public and semi-public spaces within the building, 
• communal kitchen spaces should be designed for social interaction, such as shared kitchens with cooking stations facing each other,
• amenity spaces should be of a size and quality that actively encourages their use and community engagement, and 
• where appropriate, entrance lobbies and public amenities such as restaurants and bars should encourage use by the surrounding local community as well as the internal community. 

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments respond to a housing need, and like HMOs or flat shares will be the main or only residence for some people. Any

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments will contribute towards meeting our housing requirement on a pro-rata basis, in line with the ratio for other communal accommodation set out within the Housing Delivery Test rulebook (which is currently 1.9 units to one dwelling). 

Planning applications for

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

developments should include the following information to enable the acceptability of the proposal to be assessed: 

  a. private unit sizes and locations, including which of these are considered suitable for double occupancy, 

  b. clear identification of communal internal and external spaces, including which are only for use by the

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

residents, and which are semi-public or public and can be used by non-residents of the

Large scale purpose built and managed residential accommodation, often comprising self- contained studios, with extensive communal facilities.

development, 

  c. size and distance calculations that demonstrate how the kitchen and dining facilities are sufficient and appropriately located, and 

  d. calculations that demonstrate how the facilities are sufficient for the intended number of users, including residents’ visitors. 

• The combined areas of Cambridge District and South Cambridgeshire District Councils.

  A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

  : Homes Topic Paper (2025)
• Housing Needs of Specific Groups in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire (2025)

We will consider all comments while developing the next version of the

A plan for the future development of a local area, drawn up by the local planning authority in consultation with the community. In law this is described as the development plan documents adopted under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. A local plan can consist of either strategic or non-strategic policies, or a combination of the two.

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All comments must be received by 30 January 2026 at 5pm.