Zenith Planning and Design Consultants

1 Zenith Planning and Design Consultants Creative solutions for sustainable development DEVELOPMENT AND FLOOD RISK SEQUENTIAL AND EXCEPTION TESTS August 2012 Address: 201-209 Queens Road Beeston Proposal: Erection of retail unit with three apartments above Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected] 2 Introduction Until March 2012 the definitive guidance from central government to local authorities in respect of development and flood risk was set out in Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25). However this was replaced from March 27th by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Nevertheless the Government’s approach has not changed, and the NPPF states in paragraph 100 “inappropriate development in areas at high risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, but where development is necessary, making it safe without increasing flood risk elsewhere”. Paragraph 101 states “Development should not be allocated or permitted if there are reasonably available sites appropriate for the proposed development in areas with a lower probability of flooding. The Strategic Flood Risk assessment will provide the basis for applying this test. A sequential approach should be used in areas known to be at risk from any form of flooding.” Para 103 states that Local Planning Authorities should, when determining planning applications, ensure flood risk is not increased elsewhere and only consider development appropriate in areas at risk of flooding where, informed by a site-specific FRA following the Sequential Test and the Exception Test, it can be demonstrated that : Within the site, the most vulnerable development is located in areas of lowest flood risk unless there are overriding reasons to prefer a different location and Development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, including safe access and escape routes where required and that any residual risk can be safely managed, including by emergency planning and it gives priority to sustainable drainage systems. This sequential test relates to a site on the southern side of Queens Road Beeston Nottingham. The site currently contains a single storey retail unit occupied by Car Phone Warehouse and a large hard surfaced car park. It is proposed to erect a retail unit of approx 250 sq metres with three apartments above (2 no 1 bed flats on the first floor and 1 no 2 bed flat on the second floor). The frontage to Queens Road is predominantly commercial in character with a number of retail units. The area to the south of the application site is residential in character. The site lies within an area classified by the Environment Agency as Flood Zone 3(a), that is, an area with a high probability of flood of 1:100 or greater, where less vulnerable developments (such as retail) are acceptable, but more vulnerable uses (such as residential) need to pass both the sequential and exception tests. The planning application is supported by a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) prepared by Enzygo Environmental Consultants The FRA has shown that there is an inherent risk due to flood from the nearby Trent, and that during the 1 in 100 year (plus climate change) event a maximum water depth on site would be 0.48m and during the 1 in 1000 year event the maximum water depth on site would be 0.94m.” However, with the completion of the Left Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected] 3 Bank Alleviation Flood Defence work this risk is significantly reduced and the Greater Nottingham SFRA shows that the site will not be inundated with floodwater during the 1 in 20 year, the 1 in 100 year and the 1 in 100 year (plus climate change) events. However, the site will be inundated with floodwater during the 1 in 1000 year event. During the 1 in 1000 year event that the site has a hazard rating of low to moderate which results in danger for some (i.e. children). This report has been prepared in accordance with Environment Agency guidance and demonstrates that the proposed development meets the requirements of both tests. Background Information Relating to the Supply of Housing Land The NPPF requires that local planning authorities should identify a 5 year rolling supply of specific deliverable sites for housing, sufficient to meet their identified housing requirements as set out in the development plan (plus an additional buffer of 5%) and that Annual Monitoring Reports should be prepared confirming the availability of sufficient land to meet the targets set in the development plan. The recently published Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategy sets out the housing targets for Broxtowe Borough Council, together with those for Nottingham City Council and Gedling Borough Council, for the period up to 2028. These are based on the targets set in the Regional Spatial Strategy (adopted March 2009). Although the East Midlands Regional Plan (the RSS for this area) has now been revoked, the three local authorities have agreed that the RSS targets are still relevant. The RSS figures for the period 2006 to 2026 have therefore been retained, updated to reflect the number of completions between 2006 and 2011, and extended by a further two years. The target set in the RSS for Broxtowe Borough Council of a minimum 6,800 units has therefore become 6,150 in the Aligned Core Strategy. Of this total of 6,150, a target of 250 units has been set for the period 2011 -2013 and 1,600 units for the period 2013 – 2018. The Core Strategy accepts that “in terms of deliverability, the housing provision figure is considered to be extremely challenging ........ but achievable ......given an early return to good market conditions.” The majority of the new housing in Broxtowe is to be provided within or adjacent to the main built up area of Greater Nottingham. The Strategy explains the rationale behind this provision stating, “Areas in the urban south of Broxtowe benefit from being in the stronger housing sub-market, having the most comprehensive public transport links particularly to Nottingham and being in the greatest area of affordable housing need.” In fact only two key strategic sites are identified in the Core Strategy within Broxtowe Borough – the Boots site at Beeston which straddles the boundary with Nottingham City Council, and where a target of 550 units in the period 6 + years has been set for that part of the site which lies within Broxtowe, and land at Field Farm at Stapleford where a target of Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected] 4 450 units has been set in the period 6+ years . In addition to these two sites, a number of smaller sites for housing have been identified in the settlements of Awsworth, and Brinsley, and the settlements of Eastwood and Kimberley have been identified as strategic locations for future housing development but no specific sites identified as yet. All of these sites have been allocated targets for the period of 6+ years. It can be seen therefore that in the short term at least it will be difficult to achieve the targets set in the Core Strategy. The latest available Annual Monitoring report for Broxtowe Borough Council is the report for 2010/2011. The RSS set a required rate for house-building in Broxtowe of 340 houses per year. However the actual figure for 2010/2011 was 222. Whilst this was an improvement over the figure for 2009/2010 of 95 units, over the first five year period of the Regional Plan 370 less houses were built than the 1700 required by the Plan. The Monitoring Report lists all the allocated sites or sites with planning permission which are likely to come forward for development during the 5 year period. The 2010/2011 Report confirms that over the 5 year period there will be a shortfall of 882 units compared to the Regional Plan target. It is clear therefore that windfall sites will remain a small but important element of the provision of the required new houses. An analysis of planning permissions included in the Monitoring Report and applications submitted over the past year since the Report was prepared reveals that the majority of these windfall sites are very small, typically providing between 1 and 3 units. Applying the sequential approach Notwithstanding the identified shortage of suitable sites for residential development to meet the required 5 year supply, it is still necessary to undertake a sequential test as set out in PPS25. Broxtowe Borough Council have previously advised in relation to a nearby site that it is appropriate to limit the area of search to the southern part of the District. The northern and southern parts of the District have their own distinctive character and potential occupiers looking to live in Chilwell or Beeston would be unlikely to consider options in the north of the District such as Giltbrook, Newthorpe or Strelley. The area of search has therefore been limited to the part of the District which lies to the south of the A52, i.e. Beeston Rylands, Toton, Attenborough, Chilwell, and Beeston. It should be noted that much of the area covered by Beeston Rylands, Toton, and Attenborough lies within Flood Zones 2 (1in 1000 year flood) and 3 (1 in 100 year flood) and that some parts of Chilwell, and Beeston also lie in flood risk areas. The sites listed below comprise :- a) sites within the defined area with planning permission for 3 or more dwellings which were identified in The Annual Monitoring Report 2010/2011 as contributing to the 5 year supply and Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ Alison Dudley Dip.

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