CITY OF SALFORD (LANGWORTHY SOUTH WEST) COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 2017
SALFORD CITY COUNCIL
THE HOUSING ACT 1985
THE ACQUISITION OF LAND ACT 1981
CITY OF SALFORD (LANGWORTHY SOUTH WEST) COMPULSORY PURCHASE ORDER 2017
STATEMENT OF REASONS
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1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 This document is the Statement of Reasons of Salford City Council (“the Council”) for making a compulsory purchase order (CPO) entitled the City of Salford (Langworthy South West) Compulsory Purchase Order 2017 (“the Order”) in respect of land for which the Council is the Acquiring Authority. The Order is made pursuant to section 17 of the Housing Act 1985.
1.2 This Statement of Reasons has been prepared in accordance with the guidance in the Guidance on compulsory purchase process and The Critchel Down Rules for the disposal of surplus land acquired by, or under threat of, compulsion 2015 (“the Guidance”). In this Statement of Reasons the land in the Order is referred to as “the Order Lands” and are shown coloured pink on the plan attached as Appendix 2.
2. Description of the Order Lands, location, topographical features, and present use
2.1 The Order Lands consist of four plots which are in third party ownership as detailed below:
2.1.1 The reversionary freehold interest in land previously the site of a former dwelling 1 Southern Street shown as plot 1 on the Order Lands plan and totalling approximately 0.007 hectares
2.1.2 The freehold interest in the former garden land to the rear of 32 Southern Street shown as plot 2 on the Order Lands plan and totalling approximately 0.01 hectares.
2.1.3 The freehold interest in former garden land to the rear of 20 Alexander Street shown as plot 3 on the Order Lands plan and totalling approximately 0.002 hectares.
2.1.4 The freehold interest in vacant land off Nansen Street as shown as shown as plot 4 on the Order Map and equalling approximately 0.04 hectares.
2.2 The Order Lands are situated in the Langworthy ward of Salford in a predominantly residential area approximately one mile from Media City and three miles from Manchester City Centre. They are included within two proposed development sites bounded by Greenland Street, Norway Street, Kara Street and Nansen Street on the one side and Liverpool Street, Southern Street and Kara Street on the other side. The two development sites are shown edged red on the plan at Appendix 1 and referred to in this Statement of Reasons as the “Development Sites”.
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2.3 The Development Sites were identified for redevelopment following housing market failure in a number of areas across the City of Salford in the mid/late 1990s. This failure occurred in a number of areas across the city, one of which was Langworthy. The outcome of this failure was the lack of quality housing to meet the needs and demands of local people or to attract new residents into the area.
2.4 Many of the areas affected by housing market failure were characterised by high levels of empty properties, large swathes of older terraced properties which were no longer in demand and low value properties which offered restricted choice for those wishing to move up the property ladder. In order to address this problem, the Seedley and Langworthy Renewal Area was declared in 2000. This proposed the comprehensive redevelopment of both areas.
2.5 The redevelopment proposals were preceded by the voluntary acquisition and subsequent clearance of a large number of terraced houses together with other ancillary properties. The proposal was to bring forward redevelopment of new build residential properties, ‘homeswaps’ for residents affected by site clearance, block improvements of retained housing, extensive remodelling of some terraced housing, shop front improvements, a new church, a new school and improvements to Chimney Pot Park.
2.6 The above proposals were initially funded through the Single Regeneration Budget and later by the Manchester/Salford Housing Market Renewal Fund (HMRF) Pathfinder Programme. However the HMRF funding programme came to an end several years earlier than planned, more importantly, before all the site assembly and redevelopment proposals could be implemented.
2.7 The Development Sites were subject to extensive voluntary acquisition activity before funding ceased. However, although the Council now already owns or has acquired a substantial part of the subject Development Sites, the Council was unable to acquire the Order Lands due to the whereabouts of owners being unknown.
3. Area of the Order Lands
3.1 The total area of the Order Lands comprise approximately 0.06 hectares and are shown shaded pink on the plan attached at Appendix 2.
4. The Enabling Power
4.1 Section 17 of the Housing Act 1985 (“the Housing Act”) empowers local housing authorities to compulsorily acquire land for the provision of housing accommodation. The acquisition must achieve a quantitative or qualitative housing gain.
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4.2 Under the provisions of Section 17 (1) (b) of the Housing Act, a local housing authority may acquire houses, or buildings which may be made suitable as houses, together with any land occupied with the houses or buildings.
4.3 Under the provisions of Section 17(2), the local housing authority is also empowered to acquire land for the purpose of disposing of houses provided, or to be provided, on the land or of disposing of the land to a person who intends to provide housing accommodation on it.
4.4 Section 17(3) allows the local housing authority to acquire land by agreement, or it may be authorised by the Secretary of State to acquire it compulsorily.
4.5 The Council is satisfied that in order to facilitate the future comprehensive redevelopment of the Development Sites the compulsory acquisition of the Order Lands is required. It is the Council’s intention having acquired the Order Lands to dispose of the Development Sites on the open market to a developer that will bring forward much needed residential development.
5. Purpose for seeking to acquire the land
5.1 As noted above, the purpose of seeking this CPO is to assemble the land that is necessary to facilitate the comprehensive redevelopment of the presently dormant Development Sites. The Council believes that without the inclusion of the Order Lands, any redevelopment would be fragmented in order to accommodate the Order Lands. This would in turn frustrate the prospect of the Development Sites being marketed to facilitate the comprehensive redevelopment of the wider area.
6. Justification for making the CPO
6.1 The Order Lands are located in the Langworthy ward of Salford, which contains a mix of privately owned and rented properties. A significant proportion of interests in the proposed Development Sites were acquired by agreement on a ‘deemed compulsory purchase’ basis between 2000 and 2011 before the renewal area programme came to an end.
6.2 Between 2011 and the present day negotiations have continued, where possible to acquire the interests required to facilitate development of the wider area but it has not been possible to acquire all identified interests by agreement.
6.3 The Order Lands remain in third party ownership as it has not been possible to acquire these interests as the whereabouts of the owners is not known.
6.4 The Council is satisfied that there is a compelling case in the public interest for the compulsory acquisition of the Order Lands as they are required in order to
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complete site assembly in order to facilitate redevelopment of the Development Sites.
7. Proposals for the Use of the Land
7.1 If the Order is confirmed and title in the Order Lands is vested in the Council, the intention is to market the Development Sites for residential development. The Council is confident that the Development Sites will generate a significant amount of interest from developers.
8. Statement of Planning Position
8.1 The Development Sites are currently unallocated in the Council’s draft Local Plan but in view of the previous use being predominantly residential and the need for housing in Salford which is supported by the statistics in paragraph 9 below it is considered highly likely that residential development would be permitted.
8.2 Relevant corporate polices The policy framework, which supports the making of this compulsory purchase order includes; The Salford City Council Housing Strategy ‘Shaping Housing in Salford 2020’ and planning policy for the area. Salford City Council – Housing Planning Guidance 2006. Salford 2025: A Modern Global City City of Salford Unitary Development Plan (UDP) policies saved beyond 21st June 2009 Planning Obligations SPD 2015
8.3 It is considered that the reasons behind the making of the compulsory purchase order and the proposals for the subsequent use of the land are consistent with the policies outlined above.
9. Information required by paragraph 107 of the Guidance
9.1 Paragraph 107 of the Guidance provides that, when applying for the confirmation of a CPO made under s17 of the Housing Act, the authority should provide information regarding the need for the provision of further housing accommodation in its area. This information is detailed below.
Housing Stock and tenure 9.2 Council Tax records in 2017 show that Salford has a housing stock of approximately 115,000 dwellings. Owner occupation is the predominant form of tenure in the city, although the amount of owner occupied properties as a proportion of the total stock is generally quite low when compared to that for England and significantly lower in the Langworthy ward where the proposed development site is located. Salford has a higher proportion of affordable homes
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(Shared Ownership, Local Authority and Other Social Rented) than is evident across England. Again this is significantly higher in Langworthy as indicated in the table below:
Tenure (Households)
2001 Census 2011 census
Lang- Salford England Lang- Salford England
worthy worthy
Owner 12.27% 22.96% 29.10% 11.5% 21.8% 30.6% Occupied (owned outright)
Owner 16.21% 32.56% 38.88% 14.9% 28.5% 32.8% Occupied (Mortgage)
Shared 0.98% 0.83% 0.65% 1.2% 0.5% 0.8% Ownership
Local 36.48% 25.73% 13.21% 31.7% 17.8% 9.4% Authority
Other Social 15.21% 3.69% 6.05% 19% 11.0% 8.3% Rented
Private 13.86% 8.23% 8.80% 19.6% 18.8% 16.8% Rented
Other 4.98% 4.0% 3.22% 2.1% 1.6% 1.3%
9.3 According to the 2011 Census, housing across Salford can be divided by stock type as follows:
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% Lang- Salford North England worthy West
Detached 3.3 8.6 17.7 22.3
Semi Detached 12.9 34.3 35.7 30.7
Terrace (inc end terrace) 37.8 28.2 30.0 24.2
Maisonette, Flat or Apartment 46 28.8 16.4 22.1
Caravan and other mobile or 0 0.1 0.3 0.4 temporary structure
Rising Population
9.4 The Langworthy area, like other areas of council intervention, has seen an increase in the population. A modest increase of 2% between 2001 and 2011 compared to 8.3% for the rest of Salford and 7.9% for England over this same time period. Since 2011-2015 the population has continued to increase, but at a higher rate than the Salford average. See table below.
No of Population- Mid- % Population Households 2015 estimate Change
April 2016/17 2015 2011-2015
Langworthy 7,090 13,646 5.5%
Salford 114,492 245,614 5.0%
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Housing Requirement and Growth
9.5 The last assessment of Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN) covering Salford is in the 2016 Greater Manchester Strategic Housing Market Assessment (GM SHMA), published in October 2016. This OAHN uses the DCLG 2014-based household projections as its basis, but then applies an uplift to household formation for the 25-44 age cohorts in accordance with the recommendation to Government made by the Local Plans Expert Group. The GM SHMA informed the Draft Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) and the Draft Salford Local Plan, both of which were consulted upon over the period October 2016 to January 2017. The housing requirement for Salford in these plans was 1,745 dwellings per annum over the period 2015-2035 and reflects a redistribution of the OAHNs between the ten districts in Greater Manchester.
Salford’s Housing Waiting List
9.6 As at April 2017 there were 6,826 households on Salford’s housing register. This, added to the projected housing requirements for the city, makes it imperative that development sites such as these are brought forward.
9.7 The most recent Greater Manchester Housing Needs Assessment 2016 (conducted as part of the aforementioned GM SHMA) indicates that there is a shortfall of 760 affordable homes in Salford per year. In relation to the ward in which the development is proposed, for every affordable home advertised there are on average 30 bids.
9.8 Subject to viability and final scheme design (of which the Order Lands will form a part) it is expected that a proportion of the homes to be delivered on Development Sites will be affordable and so help contribute to meeting this need.
Housing Completions for Langworthy
9.10 Between 1st April 2016 and 31st March 2017, there was a 106 gross dwelling increase (new build and conversions) in homes, with 2 homes lost through conversions. The Development Sites would be suitable for the construction of circa 60 high quality homes to create a mixed and sustainable quality housing offer and community in Langworthy and support meeting wider need, demand and housing requirement for Salford in general.
9.11 The Council’s intention is to dispose of the Development Sites that include the Order Lands on the open market. Such disposal will be conditional on development in accordance with an approved scheme being brought forward within three years of the confirmation of the Order.
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10. Financial ability of the Council in relation to the acquisition and associated compensation related to the Order Lands
There is capital budget provision to acquire the Order Lands. This will cover any ancillary costs, such as making the CPO, marketing and professional fees in addition to any Inquiry costs should one be called. The capital budget provision will also extend to any costs should the matter proceed the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).
11. Special considerations applying to the Order Lands
There are no special considerations applying to the proposed Order Lands. It is not located within a designated Conservation Area.
12 Government views about the proposed development of the Order Lands
There are no Government views about the proposed development of the Order Lands.
13. Related orders, applications, consents or appeals etc. made under other powers
There are no related orders, applications, consents or appeals in connection with this compulsory purchase order.
14. Information of interest to persons affected by the compulsory purchase or proposed development of the Order Lands, including re - housing and compensation issues
As the Order Lands are vacant, there are no issues regarding re - housing or relocation payments to any occupiers.
15. Human Rights Act 1998 and Public Sector Equality Duty
15.1 With respect to the CPO, the Council has considered the issue of the applicability of the Human Rights Act 1998 and in particular Article 1 of the First Protocol which provides that “Every person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions” and “No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law”.
15.2 Article 8 also provides that “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life and his home” and “There shall be no such interference with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and necessary in a democratic society for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health and morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedom of others”.
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15.3 When considering compulsory purchase order proposals, a local authority has to have regard to the impact the proposals may have in respect of the above Articles. It is expected that the “doctrine of proportionality” will be applied to ensure “that a measure imposes no greater restriction upon a Convention right than is absolutely necessary to achieve its objectives”. Simply put, the interference with the fundamental rights is no more than is reasonably necessary to achieve the legitimate aim being pursued.
15.4 The public sector equality duty has been considered and the requirement in s149 Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to the need to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not have been met. As the Order Lands comprise four vacant sites the provisions section 149 of the Equality Act are not triggered for the purposes of the proposed compulsory acquisition of the Order Lands.
15.5 Having regard to the above, it is considered, on balance, and in the public interest, that the compulsory purchase of the interests included in the Order Lands is the most appropriate way forward.
16. Conclusion
The CPO will facilitate the comprehensive development of the Development Sites in the Langworthy area of Salford. The Council believes that the comprehensive redevelopment of the Development Sites will be frustrated if the Order Lands are not acquired using its compulsory purchase powers as this will lead to a fragmented and piecemeal development of the sites that would be difficult to offer on the open market.
The Council therefore considers that compulsory acquisition is necessary, justified and proportionate and that there is a compelling case in the public interest for the Order to be made.
17. Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2007
This Statement of Reasons is not intended to be the a Statement of Case referred to in Rule 7 of the Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2007 and a further statement will be sent at the appropriate time to all persons who object to the Order.
18. Documents, maps, plans or other relevant information in the event of a Local Inquiry
18.1 In the event of a public inquiry or written representation procedure, the Council intends to refer to or put into evidence the following documents, maps and plans:
National Planning Policy Framework Planning Practice Guidance
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Shaping Housing in Salford 2020 - a housing strategy for Salford Affordable Housing Strategy Homelessness Strategy 2013 to 2018 - Prevention, protection and place matters Allocations policy 2016
18.2 The Council may also refer to other documents in order to address any objections made to the order.
19 Contact
Should you wish to discuss the Order and/or progress negotiations please contact: Sarah Malone MSc MRICS Senior Development Surveyor Urban Vision Email: [email protected] Tel: 0161 779 6073
20. Appendices
Appendix 1 Order Lands Appendix 2 Development Sites
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