Annual Monitoring Report 2018/19 Introduction Monitoring activity relating to local plan policies, enables the identification of any unintended consequences of policies, whether the assumptions and objectives that the policies are based upon are still relevant and if the policy targets are being achieved. In turn, the findings highlight where adjustments and revisions to policies are required and can inform the development of new policies. Further, with monitoring, any difficulties in achieving delivery in terms of timescales and other measurable targets can be highlighted. Where variance from policy is identified, the actions required to bring implementation back in line can be identified and implemented thereafter. Following the introduction of the Localism Act in 2011, local planning authorities have much greater flexibility concerning the preparation of Annual Monitoring reports (AMR). An AMR must still be published annually and made available at council offices and published on the website. The Act however allows local planning authorities to choose indicators and targets to include in their AMR, that best relate to local circumstances and priorities in their area. This AMR relates to the period 1st April 2018 – 31st March 2019. The County Durham Plan is currently in preparation and was submitted to the Secretary of State for examination on 28 June 2019. The programmed hearing sessions will commence in October 2019. We are therefore using the existing development plan as the basis for this AMR. This consists of a number of documents (local plans) that were adopted by the former districts of County Durham before the local authority was created in 2009. These existing local plans set out information on how planning and development is currently managed. Saved policies in these local plans will continue to influence planning and development decisions until the County Durham Plan replaces them. It would be difficult to monitor all of these local plans individually and so it has been decided to monitor indicators that are cross-cutting and common amongst all previous local plans. The County at a Glance County Durham covers a total area of 862 square miles and borders Tyne and Wear, the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland. It has high quality landscapes rich in wildlife, attractive countryside, villages, historic towns and buildings and a restored coastline. The environment is one of the County’s key assets. The County is home to around 526,9801 people of whom over 248,8002 are in employment. The county has 13,6853 business enterprises. Overall, the total GVA is around £8.75 billion4. County Durham has commuting relationships with Tyne and Wear and Tees Valley labour markets. The County has net out-commuting of 30,3605 people on a daily basis. County Durham shares many of the problems of the North of England, arising from a long-term pattern of sectoral change and industrial decline. It also has unique challenges arising from its legacy of scattered industrial settlements, and its lack of large urban areas to drive growth. Countering these, though, are the unique environments of Durham City and the Durham Dales and the key strengths of Durham University. The county, though commonly regarded as a predominantly rural area, varies in character from remote and sparsely populated areas in the west, to the former coalfield communities in the centre and the east, where villages tend to accommodate thousands rather than hundreds. Around 90% of the population lives east of the A68 road in approximately half of the county by area. Our largest towns act as service centres for the surrounding communities, providing employment, shopping and key day-to-day services. The role of the towns in County Durham varies widely. Some provide vital services to isolated communities whilst others have grown to provide a much wider range of services for both the town and other communities nearby. Whilst there are over 300 settlements within the county, 94% of the population live within a 5-mile radius of the largest towns. County Durham remains a source of economically important minerals to meet commercial development needs. A steady and adequate supply should be maintained for both local and nationally important mineral resources. The approach to waste management is to tackle the growth in waste through the use of the waste hierarchy which seeks to prioritise the prevention of waste at source, followed by reuse, recycling, recovery including energy recovery and as a last option, safe disposal. The remainder of the AMR sets out monitoring indicators under the following headings: • Housing • Economic Growth and Town Centres • Environmental Quality • Minerals and Waste 1 ONS MYE 2 ONS APS 3 ONS IDBR 4 ONS GVA 5 ONS Census origin and destination Housing Indicator H1 - Net Housing Completions H2 – Housing Permissions H3 - Percentage of affordable housing units delivered by Delivery Area H4 - Net additional Traveller pitches or plots approved and completed by type H5 – Student Exempt Properties H1 - Net Housing Completions 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Gross 1,303 1,208 1,093 1,225 1,556 1,417 1,356 1,513 housing completions Demolitions 59 84 3 61 15 7 17 50 Net housing 1,244 1,124 1,090 1,164 1,541 1,410 1,339 1,463 completions * figures may be subject to small changes over time, as data is collected from a large number of sources and due to this some figures may be delayed. After a decline in completions through 2016/17 and 2017/18, net completions increased by 124 units in 2018/19. Data shows that there were 1,513 gross housing completions for the year 2018/19. There were 50 demolitions within the year bringing the net housing completion figures to 1,463 for 2018/19. The Housing Delivery Test (HDT) provides the Government’s official measure of housing delivery performance at local authority level. It measures net additional dwellings in a local authority area against the homes required, using national statistics and local authority data6. County Durham has 6https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/728523/ HDT_Measurement_Rule_Book.pdf passed the HDT with a result of 116%7 and is therefore above the required ‘pass mark’ of 95% where no action needs to be taken. H2 - Housing Commitments and Permissions Whilst housing completions are important in considering housing supply and delivery, they only show part of the picture. It is also relevant to consider sites that have received planning permission. Monitoring has confirmed that there remains a large supply of housing sites with planning permission that are yet to be implemented (Commitments) – 11,607 units. There are also 5,770 units to be built on sites under construction8. National Planning Policy requires Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to maintain a five-year supply of deliverable sites (against housing requirements) to ensure choice and competition in the market for land. Based on this, as at 1st April 2019 the council can demonstrate a supply of housing land of 6.37 years against its Local Housing Need9. H3 - Affordable Housing Units Delivered In 2018/19 there were 532 affordable housing units completed in County Durham. This amounts to 35.2% of all completions. Affordable housing 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 H4 – Net additional Traveller pitches or plots approved and completed by type County Durham has six permanent Gypsy, Traveller sites: • St Phillips Park (Coundon Grange) • East Howle (Ferryhill) • Adventure Lane (West Rainton) • Drum Lane (Birtley) • Ash Green Way (Bishop Auckland) 7 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-delivery-test-2019-measurement 8 As at 1st April 2019 9 http://durhamcc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/file/5494486 • Tower Road (Maiden Law) There has been no change in the number of pitches in the reporting year. H5 – Student Exempt Properties Data is collected on the spatial concentrations of properties with the student exemption from Council Tax by postcode, as a proportion of total residential properties. As background, on 13th April 2016 the council adopted an interim policy on student accommodation. This indicator supports the monitoring impact of the interim policy. In addition, an Article 4 Directions were made for the centre of Durham City on 16th September 2016 and Newton Hall and Framwellgate Moor on 13th May 2017. These Article 4 Directions means that planning permission is be required for the change of use from a family home to a house in multiple occupation (HMO). This indicator helps to monitor the impact of the Interim Policy. Below shows the concentrations of the properties benefiting from a student exemption from council tax in Durham City (March 2019) The darker the shading the greater the concentration of HMOs, it is clear that the concentrations vary across the city with the greatest concentrations in the viaduct area and the city centre. For more information on the Article 4 designations in Durham City https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2499/Multiple-occupancy-homes Economic Growth and Town Centres Indicator EG1 - Employment Proposals approved and completed EG2 - Employment Land Lost to other uses EG3 - Approved and completed retail floor space outside retail centres EG4 - Vacancy rates in retail centres EG5 - Percentage of units within Town Centres in A5 use EG1 - Employment Proposals Approved and Completed It is important that there is a portfolio of employment sites across the County which are attractive to new employers, allow the expansion of existing businesses and respond to the changing needs of business. Approvals During the 2018/19 there was 16ha of land approved for employment uses B1, B2 and B8. The majority of this was for B2 (General Industry), with 9ha approved at Land North of 25 Copeland Row, Evenwood, for a production warehouse unit and offices, access and ancillary building.