Policy H/SS: Residential space standards and accessible homes

1. All new residential units (including residential annexes) created through new build, conversions and change of use must as a minimum meet, and wherever possible exceed, the residential space standards set out in the Government’s Technical Housing Standards – Nationally Described Space Standard (2015) or a successor document. 

2. The Government’s Technical Housing Standards – Nationally Described Space Standard (2015) requires that: 

  a. The dwelling provides at least the gross internal floor area and built-in storage area set out in Table 00; 

  b. A dwelling with two or more bedspaces has at least 1 double (or twin) bedroom; 

  c. In order to provide 1 bedspace, a single bedroom has a floor area of at least 7.5m² and is at least 2.15m wide; 

  d. In order to provide two bedspaces, a double (or twin bedroom) has a floor area of at least 11.5m²; 

  e. One double (or twin bedroom) is at least 2.75m wide and every other double (or twin) bedroom is at least 2.55m wide; 

  f. Any area with a headroom of less than 1.5m is not counted within the gross internal area unless used solely for storage (if the area under the stairs is to be used for storage, assume a general floor area of 1m² within the gross internal area); 

  g. Any other area that is used solely for storage and has a head room of 900- 1,500mm (such as under eaves) is counted at 50% of its floor area, and any area lower than 900mm is not counted at all; 

  h. A built-in wardrobe counts towards the gross internal area and bedroom floor area requirements, but should not reduce the effective width of the room below the minimum widths set out above. The built-in area in excess of 0.72m² in a double bedroom and 0.36m² in a single bedroom counts towards the built-in storage requirement; 

  i. The minimum floor to ceiling height is 2.3m for at least 75% of the gross internal area. 

Notes: 

• Built-in storage areas are included within the overall Gross Internal Areas (GIAs) and include an allowance of 0.5m2 for fixed services or equipment such as a hot water cylinder, boiler or heat exchanger. 
• GIAs for 1 storey dwellings include enough space for 1 bathroom and 1 additional WC (or shower room) in dwellings with 5 or more bedspaces. GIAs for 2 and 3 storey dwellings include enough space for 1 bathroom and 1 additional WC (or shower room). Additional sanitary facilities may be included without increasing the GIA provided that all aspects of the space standard have been met.
• Where a 1 bed 1 person (1b1p) dwelling has a shower room instead of a bathroom, the floor area may be reduced from 39m2 to 37m2, as shown bracketed. 
• Furnished layouts are not required to demonstrate compliance. 

External residential space standards 

3. All new residential dwellings, created through new build, conversions and change of use, will be expected to have direct access to private external amenity space that is immediately outside their living accommodation. The form of amenity space will be dependent on the typology and size of housing and could include a private garden, roof garden, balcony, glazed winter garden or ground-level patio with defensible space from any shared external amenity areas. The required external amenity space standards may be met through a combination of multi-levelled private amenity space. 

4. Developments must meet or exceed the following private external amenity space standards: 

  a. Any house (irrespective of the number of bedrooms) should provide a minimum of 30 m² of private external amenity space, 

  b. Ground floor apartments (irrespective of the number of bedrooms) should provide a minimum of 10 m² private external amenity space immediately outside their living accommodation, with a minimum depth of 2500mm, or 

  c. Upper floor apartments with 1 bedroom (one or two bedspaces) should have a private external amenity space of 5 m2 through the use of a private balcony with a minimum depth of 1500mm and a minimum usable width of 3000mm. An additional 1 m² will need to be provided for each additional person (bedspace). 

5. In providing appropriate private external amenity space, development must: 

  a. consider the location and context of the development, including the character of the surrounding area; 

  b. take into account the orientation of the amenity space in relation to the sun at different times of year, balance openness and protection, and be designed to provide a sense of privacy to avoid spaces that feel overly exposed; 

  c. address issues of overlooking and enclosure, which may otherwise impact detrimentally on the proposed dwelling and any neighbouring dwellings; 

  d. design the amenity space to be of a shape, size and location that allows for effective and practical use of the space by residents; 

  e. provide balconies that are designed as integral elements of the building's architecture and not appear as bolt-on additions, with semi-inset or inset balconies encouraged, to support cohesive facade compositions and support usability; and 

  f. provide well designed defensible spaces for ground floor apartments ensuring buffer zones are deep enough to create a layered transition between the home and public realm to support useability.

6. In exceptional circumstances, reduced private amenity space provision for houses may be acceptable where it forms part of a clearly defined and well-designed communal living arrangement such as co-housing or community-led housing scheme and where high-quality, shared communal space is provided that demonstrates that: 

  a. The communal space is of sufficient size, quality, and accessibility to meet residents’ day-to-day needs; 

  b. It is integral to the design and function of the development (no leftover or peripheral space); 

  c. Long-term management arrangements are in place to ensure its usability and maintenance; and 

  d. The approach is appropriate to the nature of the community and tenure model proposed. 

Accessible and adaptable homes 

7. All new build residential units (including residential annexes) must be designed to be accessible and adaptable in accordance with the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(2) standard. 

8. For development proposals providing 20 or more new build dwellings, 10% of the affordable units and 5% of the market units must be ‘wheelchair user’ dwellings in accordance with the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(3) standard. These homes should be delivered as

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(3)(a) ‘wheelchair adaptable’ dwellings unless the Council has identified a need for

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(3)(b) ‘wheelchair accessible’ dwellings. 

9. Exceptions to meeting the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(2) and M4(3) standards as set out above will only apply where robust justification is provided that sets out how site- specific circumstances, in addition to the other requirements for the development, make the proposed development impractical, unachievable or unviable. 

National planning policy sets out that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, creates better places in which to live and work, and helps make development acceptable to communities. This policy will ensure that new homes across

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

provide high-quality internal and external spaces so they are inclusive, accessible, adaptable and flexible to meet the needs of existing and future users, and therefore enable and support healthy lives. 

New dwellings should provide sufficient internal and external spaces for daily activities and needs, and private amenity space can make an important contribution to improving quality of life for residents. It is important to note that the internal and external amenity space standards are expressed as minimum space standards, and housing that exceeds standards will always be encouraged. The internal and external amenity space standards apply to all tenures of housing in

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

, and all homes created through conversion, change of use, or new build. In order to achieve certain design configurations, to work within site constraints or to deliver units to a particular segment of the housing market, designers and developers may need to make early allowance to exceed the internal and / or external amenity space standards for that dwelling type. 

External amenity space should be sufficient to accommodate the following: 

• a table and chairs suitable for the size of dwelling; 
• where relevant, provision of a garden shed for general storage (including bicycles where no garage provision or cycle storage to the frontage of the dwelling is possible); 
• space for refuse and recycling bins; 
• an area to dry washing; 
• circulation space; and 
• an area for children to play in. 

External amenity space does not include car parking or turning areas. Suitable arrangements for access to refuse and recycling bins should be made. One-bedroom dwellings would not be expected to provide space for children to play, due to the lower likelihood of children occupying these units. 

Accessible and adaptable homes (i.e. dwellings in accordance with the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(2) standard) support the changing needs of residents over their lifetime. They include design features that allow the home to be altered to meet the needs of a wide range of occupants, such as older people or those with disabilities. Wheelchair user dwellings (i.e. dwellings in accordance with the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(3) standard) are those specifically designed to meet the needs of wheelchair users. 

Between 2024 and 2045, our evidence projects an increase in the number of older people, an increase in the number of older people with mobility problems, and an increase in the number of people with mobility problems, impaired mobility and wheelchair users. It also shows a likely need for a greater proportion of affordable housing to rent for wheelchair users. The Housing Needs of Specific Groups Update (2025) recommends that up to 5% of all new market homes and up to 10% of all new affordable homes should be wheelchair user dwellings, and sets out that these figures reflect that not all sites would be able to deliver homes of this type. Requiring all new build dwellings to be designed to meet the Buildings Regulations M4(2) standard will ensure that new homes will be provided that meet the needs of a wide range of occupants, including older people, others with disability or mobility issues, and some wheelchair users. Requiring a proportion of market and affordable dwellings on sites of 20 dwellings or more to meet the

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(3) standard will help to ensure that new homes will be provided to meet the specific identified need for wheelchair users. 

The requirement to meet

The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, providing the minimum standards for design, construction and alterations to virtually every building. Building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both for your project.

M4(2) and / or M4(3) standards will normally be controlled through the use of a planning condition to ensure that the relevant homes are delivered to meet the standards. When calculating the amount of wheelchair user dwellings required for a development meeting the threshold as set out in the policy, developers should round up to the nearest dwelling. 

Application of residential space standards, both internally and externally, should be shown on all submitted layouts and floorplans and be clearly demonstrated in the

A statement that accompanies a planning application to explain the design principles and concepts that have informed the development and how access issues have been dealt with. The access element of the statement should demonstrate how the principles of inclusive design, including the specific needs of disabled people, have been integrated into the proposed development and how inclusion will be maintained and managed.

, which will be used to assess the acceptability of any proposal. Compliance with the accessible and adaptable homes standards should also be demonstrated in the

A statement that accompanies a planning application to explain the design principles and concepts that have informed the development and how access issues have been dealt with. The access element of the statement should demonstrate how the principles of inclusive design, including the specific needs of disabled people, have been integrated into the proposed development and how inclusion will be maintained and managed.

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There may be specific developments where meeting the required internal and external amenity space standards, and / or accessible and adaptable homes standards, would not be appropriate for the identified occupants, such as new pod homes for the homeless. However, any exceptions would need to be clearly justified with evidence provided to demonstrate that the proposed development still delivers suitable and appropriate homes for the anticipated occupants. 

This policy applies to all proposals for self-contained dwellings, irrespective of their use class. However, developments of residential caravans are not required to meet the requirements in this policy as there are other more appropriate standards such as the British Standard for Residential Park Homes and Caravans that ensure residential caravans are built to acceptable standards. 

• 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)

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

  Housing Strategy 2024-2029: Homes for Our Future and Annexes 1-8
• Housing Needs of Specific Groups in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire (2025)
• Cambridge City Council - Sustainable Housing Design Guide (2021)
• South Cambridgeshire District Council - District Design Guide SPD (2010)

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.