Lancaster District Housing Forum

18th July 2013

Introduction by: Maurice Brophy Planning and Housing Policy Manager

Lancaster City Council, Morecambe Town Hall 18 th July 2013

Lancaster District Local Plan Housing Issues Update

Speakers • • • Maurice Brophy – Planning and Housing Policy Manager – Lancaster City Council Antony Pollard – Director, Economic Planning – Turley Associates David Jeffery – Planning Officer – Lancaster City Council

Lancaster District Local Plan Housing Issues Update

Agenda •

Welcome and Introductions

•

Strategic Housing Market Assessment

 Q and A Discussion •

Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment – Progress Update

•

Housing Land Monitoring Report 2013, Local Plan Trajectory and Five Year Housing Land

 Q and A Discussion

Local Plan Update

• The current Development Plan in Lancaster District is comprised of the following:   Saved Policies of the 2004 Lancaster District Local Plan Lancaster District Core Strategy 2008 • These DPD’s are supported by formally adopted SPD’s including:  SPD on Meeting Housing Needs (Affordable Housing) • All must be considered in the context of the NPPF as a material Planning Consideration

The Changing Planning Context

• Since Core Strategy was Adopted:    Prolonged economic recession Publication of NPPF Revocation of NWRSS • NPPF advises that the Local Plan should: “

respond flexibly to changing circumstances”

Given such significant changes in circumstances Core Strategy Policies on Urban Concentration and Rural Communities needed to clearly be reviewed.

Key Decision:

Once adopted, a new suite of Local Plan documents will address all planning policies matters and the policies of the Core Strategy will be replaced.

Moving Forward

• The Council is working on the preparation of five key documents which will collectively form the districts Local Plan and once complete will wholly supersede the Core Strategy.

• • • • • Development Management Policies DPD Morecambe Area Action Plan DPD Land Allocations DPD Arnside & Silverdale AONB DPD Gyspsy and Traveller Accommodation DPD • The intention was to Publish three simultaneously (The Land Allocations, Development Management and Morecambe Area Action Plan), however following revocation of RSS, increasing appreciation of the NPPF’s guidance on housing needs and significant contributions to consultation particularly relating to the Land Allocation Document this is no longer considered appropriate.

Moving Forward

• The Council remains committed to publishing the Development Management Policies DPD and the Morecambe Area Action Plan DPD promptly. • The Council has however, commissioned a new SHMA and is undertaking a SHLAA and Employment Land Survey which will contribute to revisions to the Land Allocations DPD. The Council will therefore need some time to consider the outputs of these studies and following revisions anticipates a requirement for further consultation with the community and relevant stakeholders

The Council’s Revised LDS will be available on the web soon.

2013 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) Interim Update

Presented by: David Jeffery Planning Officer

18 th July 2013

• • •

Context of the previous SHLAA

Historic need to constrain development Replacement of PPG13 with NW RSS Preparation of Core Strategy

Key events since last SHLAA (2008/09)

• • • Recession NPPF Published RSS Revoked

2013 SHLAA

• •

SHLAA Methods

Officers developed an updated methodology for undertaking the SHLAA update in March 2013. The method was circulated to the Lancaster Housing Forum and has been used as the basis for carrying out the Assessment. The following objectives were identified:  To provide a robust evidence base to inform the production of the Land Use Allocations DPD;   Provide sufficient information to enable the council to identify and maintain a rolling 5 year supply of deliverable sites for housing; Identify a supply of deliverable sites sufficient to meet the district’s housing needs for at least 15 years as required by NPPF; and  Provide a consistent framework for the assessment of housing sites within the district.

Stage 1

Planning the assessment

Stage 2

Determining which sources of sites to include

Stage 3

Desktop review of existing information

Stage 4

Determining which sites and areas will be surveyed

Stage 5

Carrying out the survey

Stage 6

Estimating the housing potential of each site

Stage 7

Assessing whether and when site may be developed

Stage 8

Review of the assessment The Assessment Evidence Base Regular Monitoring and updating 5Yr Supply of Deliverable Sites Plan Preparation

Progress to Date

• The SHLAA refresh has progressed through each of the stages as above and is now (depending on individual sites), between stage 5 and 7c • The Process has initially identified a total of 641 potential sites which meet the sources criteria identified in stage 2. Many of these will be familiar to attendees.

• As detailed in the SHLAA Methodology sites which either fall below the minimum site threshold (this was identified as sites of 0.15ha or smaller and schemes of 4 dwellings or less), are covered by national designations, and/or were located in Flood Zone 3 (high probability of flooding) have been removed from the Assessment. These criteria resulted in the removal of a total of 298 sites at stage 3. • The remaining 375 sites will be assessed and the housing potential of each sites considered in detail.

What types of sites are progressing

• Almost exactly 50% of the sites are located within urban areas • 230 Sites are near to listed structures • There are 15 Greenbelt sites which pass the basic size thresholds and other assessment criteria but which would only be assessed further if steps 9 and 10 were considered necessary and in the context of a wider policy review • 69 Sites fall within or partially within the Districts AONB’s

• • • • • Next Steps Assessment of potential SHLAA sites will continue Lots of site visits still to do Publication of a map book showing all submitted sites within fortnight Further consultation with stake holders and consultees Aiming to publish completed assessments (up to stage 8) by the end of the summer

Conclusion

The 2013 SHLAA refresh offers an opportunity for the district to comprehensively and methodically assess all the known housing sites in the district and to strategically consider them with due regard to the existing development plan and the expected needs of the district over the forthcoming plan period. It will allow the Council to consider sites in recognition of the NPPF and the recent revocation of Regional Planning Guidance. Officers are making progress on this important area of work and anticipate finalising their conclusions towards the end of the summer.

Publication of Housing Land Monitoring Report 2013 and Housing Trajectory

Presented by: David Jeffery Planning Officer

18 th July 2013

HLMR

The HLMR provides a ‘snap shot’ of the housing commitment and completions position at the 1st April 2013, providing an account of: • • • • • The number of dwellings which have been completed within the plan period; The number of dwellings with extant planning permission as of the 1st April 2013 The Number of dwellings approved between the 1st April 2012 and the 31st March 2013 The Number of student beds approved between 1st April 2011 and 31st March 2013; The number of affordable Housing completions and affordable housing approvals between the1st April 2012 and the 31st March 2013

Financial Year 2003/04 2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 Running Total

Annual Completions

Core Strategy Housing Requirement Dwelling Completions (of which are student units)

400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400 400

4000

556 348 253 182 350 330 121 79 99 214 (39)

2,537 Actual over/under completions

156 -52 -147 -218 -50 -70 -279 -321 -301 -186

-1,468

• The housing commitment in Lancaster district as of the 1st April 2013 is 2,429 dwellings.

Sub-area Lancaster Morecambe and Heysham Carnforth Rural TOTAL Detached

3.74%

Semi-detached

7.93%

Terraced

13.68% 6.03% 1.40% 3.3% 14.47% 4.19% 0.06% 0.98% 13.15% 5.92% 2.12% 1.31% 23.04%

Apartments

19.16% 21.36% 2.32% 6.51% 49.34%

New housing commitment, 1 st April 2012 – 31 st March 2013 Sub-Area Lancaster Morecambe and Heysham Carnforth Rural TOTALS Large sites with planning permission approved between the 2012 and the 31 st March 2013 Small sites with planning permission approved between the 2012 and the 31 st March 2013 Total

0 36 36 0 0 0 0 13 1 32 82 13 1 32 82

% Distribution

44% 16% 1% 39% 100%

Lancaster Morecambe and Heysham Carnforth Rural

Student Housing

Following revised definitions published 4 November 2012 it is clear that the Council is also required to monitor and consider the effect of Student Dwelling completions on the Housing Market. DCLG’s Definitions of general housing terms states that:

“all student accommodation, whether it consists of communal halls of residence or self-contained dwellings, and whether or not it is on campus, can be included towards the housing provision in local development plans”

https://www.gov.uk/definitions-of-general-housing-terms  Monitoring of Student Accommodation permissions and completions began with a base date of 2012.

 The Housing Land Monitoring Report should report on the number of student beds and the number of units permitted and completed (where those beds are clustered)  The units of student accommodation completed should be reported as a component of total dwellings completed within the district but should be clearly identifiable.

 That an analysis of student accommodation permissions and completions should be reported annually as a separate element of the Housing Land Monitoring Report.

Student dwellings • 211 Student beds (39 Units) were completed between 30 th March 2012 and 1 st April 2013 • Permission was granted for 279 student beds between 30th March 2012 and 1st April 2013. • This commitment is spread across 21 sites and amounts to an equivalent of around 50 units • 193 beds are under construction whilst a further 24 are currently under consideration

Housing Trajectory • • The 2013 Housing Trajectory collectively considers the likely delivery of housing within the district It is based on planning permissions, undeveloped Local Plan housing site allocations Draft Local Plan housing site allocations and a realistic windfall allowance

Housing Trajectory Supply and Under-Supply 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 2026-27 2027-28 -2000 -4000 Total Running Supply Net Running Balance 2012/13 base date

Assessment of Supply -1000 -1500 -2000 1000 500 0 -500 Annual Supply Annual Balance Year Net Running Balance 2012/13 base date

5 Yr Housing Land

Presented by: Maurice Brophy

Planning and Housing Policy Manager 18 th July 2013

5Yr Housing Land Collectively the Housing Land Monitoring Report, and the Housing Trajectory, identify a significant challenge for sustainable planning in the district. It is expected that the SHMA will identify a housing requirement above that currently accepted as the districts housing target. Whilst this will ‘reset the clock’ it is not expected to fully resolve the issues identified The Districts 5Yr land calculation can be expressed as follows using the Sedgefield method.

Adjusted five year requirement method

= (CS Target/Number of years in the Plan Period) X 5 + Housing shortfall since beginning of plan period + Buffer @ 20%

5Yr Housing Land

Collectively the Housing Land Monitoring Report, and the Housing Trajectory, identify a significant challenge for sustainable planning in the district. It is expected that the SHMA will identify a housing requirement above that currently accepted as the districts housing target. Whilst this will ‘reset the clock’ it is not expected to fully resolve the issues identified The Districts 5Yr land calculation can be expressed as follows using the Sedgefield method.

Adjusted five year requirement

= 8000 / 20 = 400 X 5 = 2000 + 1468 = 3468 + Buffer @ 20% = 3468 X 1.2

4162 or 832 P/a

Current housing supply

At 1 April 2013 the Lancaster District had a committed housing supply of 3171 homes.

Including permissions, sites awaiting S106, assessed sites within the Draft Local Plan and an annual allowance for windfall development including purpose built student dwellings, the district has a total expected supply of 5797 homes during within the next 15 years.

Whilst 5797 homes equates to 14.4 years supply, this does not account for historic shortfall and the council’s housing delivery trajectory identifies that 3966 homes are phased to be delivered after 2017/18 and do not therefore contribute to the five year housing land supply.

1831 homes are expected to be delivered during the next five years.

5 Yr Land Conclusions

The Council accepts that the trajectory shows that insufficient dwellings will be delivered to meet our 5 year housing requirements. It demonstrates that we can reasonably expect delivery of 1831 dwellings or 2.2 years worth of supply within the five year period against the Sedgefield method.

The five year housing land supply position could be materially improved by progressing land allocations for housing that can quickly deliver new homes in a sustainable manner and by affording positive consideration to windfall proposals which come forward for new housing. The Council must balance this approach against the potentially negative effects of doing so, and diversion of attention away from the progressing strategic sites.

5Yr Land Conclusions

• • • It is expected that as market conditions improve, so too will rates of delivery from existing committed sites, windfall sites and planning proposals which may lead to further allocations.

The Council will continue to maintain a favourable context for development by:

Not introducing CIL until evidence suggests that development rates and economic factors are more favourable.

Remaining open to reasonable requests for flexibility on planning conditions and S106 requirements which can be conclusively demonstrated to unduly impact development viability on a site by site basis Remaining open to negotiating rates of affordable housing on sites in accordance with the councils adopted SPD on housing needs on a site by site basis.

Delivery Timetable

Document

Development Management (Policies) Land Allocations Morecambe Area Action Plan Arnside Silverdale AONB DPD Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation

Purpose

Provides policies for the assessment of planning applications Allocates land for development Action plan to secure regeneration in Morecambe Collaborative plan with SLDC will provide development management and land allocation policies Considers specific accommodation needs

Next Milestone

Formal Publication Addendum Consultation Formal Publication Ongoing Work to advance initial draft Formal Scoping

Anticipated Date

October 2013 Winter 2013 October 2013 Continuous