2009 Annual Monitoring Report
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Newcastle-under-Lyme Local Development Framework Annual Monitoring Report December 2009 Newcastle-under-Lyme Annual Monitoring Report 2008/09 Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 2008/09 ........................................................................... 3 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 2. The monitoring framework................................................................................... 7 3. Local Development Implementation.................................................................... 8 4. The key characteristics of the Borough of ....................................................... 11 5. Policy monitoring................................................................................................ 19 5.1 Sustainability ................................................................................................... 19 5.2 Housing ........................................................................................................... 26 5.3 Employment .................................................................................................... 32 5.4 Town centres................................................................................................... 36 5.5 Community facilities ........................................................................................ 38 5.6 Natural environment........................................................................................ 39 5.7 Historical environment..................................................................................... 42 5.8 Transport......................................................................................................... 43 Appendix 1 – Significant effects indicators.......................................................... 44 Appendix 2 – ‘Saved’ Local Plan 2011 policies.................................................... 50 Appendix 3 – Detailed policy monitoring tables .................................................. 54 Newcastle under Lyme Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report 2009 2 Newcastle under Lyme Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report 2009 NEWCASTLE-UNDER-LYME ANNUAL MONITORING REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – 2008/09 Local Policy Implementation Sustainable development • 71.2% of all new housing development was built on previously developed land, substantially less than last year (86.3%). This was due to a large number of completions on greenfield sites, namely, Lyme Valley allotments and Keele Road. It should be noted that there are a significant number of completions yet to come forward on the Keele Road site. (This development was granted permission prior to the adoption of the 2011 Local Plan.) • 100% of all new housing permissions granted in 2008/09 are on previously developed land. • 16.2% of all completed development took place in the Green Belt. Leisure uses accounted for most of this and included the site developed to accommodate the Railway Heritage Museum at Apedale (4.4ha) and a 15m² extension to the rugby club changing facilities at Lilleshall Road, Newcastle (1.42ha). • Three new housing developments completed in 2008/09 were assessed by the Council’s Building for Life Accredited Assessor. The scores ranged from 8.0 (poor) to 10.5 (average) out of a possible maximum of 20. These developments were granted permission before the Design Review Panel was introduced and therefore it is anticipated that residential developments granted permission more recently will achieve better scores. • 15 residential development proposals were assessed by the Design Review Panel. • 44% of all new housing was built within the Renew North Staffordshire boundary. • 92% of all non-housing development took place within the North Staffordshire Regeneration Zone. • No development took place that was contrary to Environment Agency advice on water quality or flood risk grounds. • Permission was granted for six small wind turbines across the borough and four domestic solar panel units as part of small housing scheme. Housing • 277 net additional dwellings were completed in 2008/09. The gross figure for completions was 364, the highest figure achieved since 1995. Despite this, the annual target for net additional homes (298) has not been met due to the large number of demolitions (87) that have also taken place in 2008/09. 3 Newcastle under Lyme Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report 2009 • The borough has a 5.7 year housing land supply. • An application for two additional pitches and construction of a new amenity block at the Gypsy site at Cemetery Road, Silverdale was granted permission in March 2009. • 37 affordable dwellings were completed in 2008/09. This is a substantial increase on recent years. A further 42 flats at Stanier Street were acquired during 2008/09 by Sanctuary Housing making them available for rent to social tenants. It is anticipated that the number of affordable dwellings delivered each year will continue to rise as there are currently 70 affordable dwellings under construction (at the end of March 2009) and planning permissions for a further 320. • The average density of residential development in 2008/09 was 30 dwellings per hectare. This is slightly less that last year’s figure of 32 and largely down to the large number of detached and semi-detached houses completed on the Borough’s two largest development sites at Keele Road and Wolstanton Colliery. Employment and economic development • 47,161m² of additional employment floorspace was completed in 2008/09 • 100% of all new employment development took place on previously developed land. • As of 31st March 2009 the borough has a supply of 61 hectares of available employment land including 2.18ha currently under construction, 46.1ha with planning permission and a further 10.84ha allocated in the 2011 Local Plan. The 18ha Regional Investment Site at Chatterley Valley is excluded from this total. • Only 22% of ‘town centre uses’ floorspace completed in the monitoring year was located within the town centre. • The RSS states that the target provision of employment land for 2006-26 in the Borough is 112 ha. The supply of land in the borough (including completions since 2006) is currently 109.4 ha • Retail surveys suggest that the Town Centre continues to offer a healthy mix of shopping and services. However, there has been an increase in the vacancy rate, from 8% in 2008 to 13% in 2009. Community facilities • There was no loss of essential community facilities in 2008/09. Natural environment • The area of land designated as Sites of Biological Importance increased from 590ha to 686ha. The area covered by Local Nature Reserve designation increased from 69ha in 2008 to 86ha in 2009. 4 Newcastle under Lyme Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report 2009 • The total area of land designated as SSSI in the Borough has not changed this year. However, 17% of the designated area at Betley Mere has been reclassified as ‘unfavourable recovering’. Last year this portion of land was classed as being in favourable condition. • As a result of survey work carried out by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust during the year, the area of land designated as Sites of Biological Importance (SBIs) has increased by 96 ha to 686ha. Access and transport The accessibility of new residential development to employment areas and key local services is no longer a statutory Core Output Indicator. However, since this data provides a valuable indicator of whether current local and regional planning policy is achieving genuinely sustainable patterns of new development, the County Council are continuing to provide this at a district/borough level. Data shows that, of the total number of dwellings completed in the year 89% had access via public transport to hospitals, 94% to town centres, 95% to GPs, 92% to High Schools, 93% to primary schools and 90% to industrial estates. 5 Newcastle under Lyme Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report 2009 1. Introduction 1.1 The role of the Annual Monitoring Report This report covers the period from 1st April 2008 to 31st March 2009. Section 35 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires every local planning authority to produce an annual report for submission to the Secretary of State containing information on:- • The progress made towards implementing the programme outlined in the authority’s Local Development Scheme. • The progress made towards achieving objectives and targets identified in local Development Plan Documents. • The impact of policies upon national and regional targets – Local Planning Regulations 48(7) specifically requires information on net additional dwellings. • The significant effects of policy implementation upon the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the plan area. • Whether policies in local Development Plan Documents need to be updated, adjusted or replaced in order to achieve identified targets, and to reflect changes in national or regional policy. 1.2 The importance of monitoring Monitoring is no longer an error-correcting mechanism to bring land use plans back on track but an important aspect of evidence based policy making, working to identify the key issues and challenges within a local authority. This, in turn, will inform the future development, revision and adjustment of Local Development Framework (LDF) policies. The AMR is an invaluable tool for the planning policy team, providing a means for – • Supporting