West Devon Authorities Monitoring Report 2011 to 2012
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
January 2013 West Devon Monitoring Report Covering the period April 2011 to March 2012 Contact Details Strategic Planning Email: [email protected] Tel: 01822 813600 January 2013 Produced by the Strategic Planning Team West Devon Borough Council Kilworthy Park Tavistock Devon PL19 0BZ © West Devon Borough Council 1 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 Contents 1. Introduction Page 3 a. Purpose of the Report b. Progress of Local Development Documents c. Profile of the Area 2. Homes Page 6 a. Completions and Commitments b. Housing Trajectory c. Housing Land Supply d. Affordable Housing e. Mix of Housing 3. Economy Page 10 a. Development of Employment Land b. Employment Land by Type c. Farm Diversification and Re-Use of Rural Buildings 4. Community Life Page 13 a. Proximity of New Housing to Local Facilities b. Retail, Office and Leisure Development 5. Environment Page 15 a. Designated Areas b. Development and Flood Risk c. Renewable Energy 2 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 1. Introduction a. Purpose of the Report Picture 1: West Devon The role of this monitoring report is to provide useful facts and figures about the progress and management of development in West Devon during the monitoring period from April 2011 to March 2012. Information is provided about the population, economy, housing and environment of the local area. The report outlines the main issues affecting West Devon in relation to the Council’s four corporate priorities: Homes Economy Community Life Environment. This report covers the area of West Devon which is not within the Dartmoor National Park. b. Progress of Local Development Documents The following Local Development Documents have been adopted: Local Development Document Adopted Reuse of Rural Buildings Supplementary Planning Document Adopted March 2006 Infrastructure and facilities to support new development Adopted June 2007 Supplementary Planning Document Core Strategy Adopted April 2011 Affordable Housing Code of Practice Adopted March 2012 Statement of Community Involvement Adopted April 2012 Table 1: Progress of Local Development Documents We are currently at a very early stage of preparing a new Local Plan for the Borough. This document will incorporate the work previously intended for the ‘Okehampton and Northern Area’ and ‘Tavistock and Southern Area’ Development Plan Documents. The ‘East of Okehampton’ and ‘South and South-West of Tavistock’ Masterplan Supplementary Planning Documents are currently being drafted and will be consulted on in 2013. 3 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 c. Profile of the Area The Borough of West Devon is situated just to the north of the city of Plymouth, and bordering the eastern edge of Cornwall. It is the largest district in Devon, covering an area of 1160 km² (115,962 hectares). 45.8% of the Borough is covered by Dartmoor National Park, leaving an area of 629 km² to be dealt with by this monitoring report. The Borough is predominantly rural in nature and is characterised by several market towns and numerous smaller villages. The largest settlements are Tavistock and Okehampton but two thirds of the population of West Devon live outside these two settlements. Picture 2: The South West Population West Devon is one of the most sparsely populated districts in England at just 0.46 people per hectare (ha). This makes the area the least populated district in Devon. The key population statistics are: West Devon has a resident population of 53,500 (ONS 2011 census). This is projected to increase to 60,300 by 2023 and to 65,000 by 2033 (ONS). Over half (53.8%) of the population of West Devon is aged 45 years or over, compared to 41.7% in the rest of England. (ONS, 2011) 38.5% of the population is aged 55 or over. This is projected to rise to 46% by 2033 (ONS, 2011) Ethnic minorities make up a tiny proportion of the population in West Devon. In 2009, the ONS estimated that just 3.6% of the West Devon population was of non-white ethnicity, compared to 12.5% across the rest of England. 4 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 Employment West Devon consistently has a 4.5% lower proportion of people employed 3.9% 3.9% 4.0% in managerial or professional 4.0% WDBC 3.7% occupations than the national average. During 2010/2011 this 3.5% Great Britain stood at 38.3% compared to 43.3% 3.0% 2.5% for Great Britain. It also has more 2.3% people employed in industrial or 2.5% 2.1% factory based employment than the 2.0% national average, at 21.5% 2.2% 2.1% Percentage compared to 17.6% for Great Britain 1.5% 1.8% 1.8% (Nomis, 2012). 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% Unemployment in West Devon is 0.5% 0.8% much lower than rates across the rest of Great Britain, and after a 0.0% significant rise during 2008/2009 AprFigure-06 Apr 1: -Job07 Apr Seekers-08 Apr Allowance-09 Apr-10 ClaimantsApr-11 Apr -12 unemployment has since remained fairly constant. Unemployment across the Borough varies significantly from ward to ward. A series of factory closures in Okehampton over recent years have resulted in the area having significantly more people claiming Jobseekers Allowance than anywhere else in the Borough, at over 4% in April 2012 (Nomis 2012). A report prepared for Devon County Council in May 2011 (“Assembling the evidence base for the Devon Local Economic Assessment”1) has presented baseline economic projections for Devon and its districts. The report suggests that, overall, GVA growth (i.e. the value of goods and services produced in the area) in Devon is projected to be slower than the South West over 2015-20, but will pick up to match the South West average rate over 2015-20. In terms of individual districts within Devon, the report projects the weakest growth in GVA over 2010-20 to be in Teignbridge and West Devon, with growth of around 1½% per annum over 2010-15, and around 2½-2¾% per annum over 2015-20. East Devon and West Devon are also projected to see the worst performance in employment terms over 2012-2020. House Price Comparison For people on lower incomes in the Borough, the price of a smaller property is around 8.75 times their income. This is similar to other districts in Devon, but significantly different to the price/income ratio across the rest of England, where the price of smaller properties is around 6.53 times lower level incomes. High house prices have led to an increase in the number of people joining the housing register. 1,892 people were registered as of 1st April 2012, a rise of 13.5% since 1st April 2011. 1 Assembling the evidence base for the Devon Local Economic Assessment: Baseline economic projections for Devon & its districts. A Final Report to Devon County Council May 2011 5 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 2. Homes a. Completions and Commitments Housing Completions Between 1st April 2001 and 31st March 2012, approximately 2758 dwellings were completed across West Devon (excluding the area covered by the DNP). The annual completions since 2000/01 are shown below. Year 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 Total 168 176 226 193 171 204 530 356 225 415 93 Table 2: Net Housing Completions 2001- 2012 Large Sites There is currently full planning permission for a total of 218 dwellings on large sites (i.e. sites of 10 or more dwellings or above 0.4ha), most of which are on sites which are currently under construction. The following table shows the status of current large sites in West Devon: Total Number Number Allocated Number of completed Site outstanding/ Status in Local New during incomplete Plan? Dwellings 2011/12 Land adjacent 65 0 Crediton Road, 12 12 Not started No Okehampton Land off Crediton 31 Under Yes – 103 23 Road, Okehampton construction Part of H4 The Market, North 0 Under 20 20 No Tawton construction Land adjacent to 33 0 Yes – Baldwin Drive, 20 20 Not started Part of H4 Okehampton Tavistock Hockey Club, 0 Under 34 11 No Tavistock construction Newton Farm, 4 Under 6 2 No Gulworthy construction Lower Brook, Brook 2 Under 13 11 No Lane, Tavistock construction Rockmount, Tavistock 10 10 0 Not started No Land adjacent Meadow 8 Yes – 25 0 Completed Rise, Spreyton H17 Abbey Rise, Tavistock 10 0 10 Completed No Total 218 109 55 - - Table 3: Large Sites 6 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 Development on Previously Developed Land The graph below shows the percentage of dwellings completed on both brownfield and greenfield land in West Devon in recent years. West Devon has limited capacity for large scale brownfield development, simply due to a lack of suitable sites. There are very few brownfield sites that are large enough to be allocated in a development plan document and so brownfield development in the Borough will come forward primarily from windfall developments. 100 % Greenfield % Brownfield 80 47 61 55 58 71 64 72 60 82 75 40 53 45 20 39 42 36 28 29 25 Percentage 18 0 Figure 2: percentage homes developed on brownfield land b. Housing Trajectory The housing trajectory (Figure 3) illustrates the amount of housing that is expected to be delivered by 2026. NB: this does not include a 15% lapse rate which is applied later in the housing land supply projections. Total Projected Completions 600 530 Total Past Completions 500 PLAN - Strategic Allocation (annualised) 415 399 356 400 349 MANAGE - Annual requirement taking 283 account of past/projected completions 300 251 246 225 226 232 204 202 217 200 162 126 93 82 82 100 81 0 0 0 0 Dwellings -100 -200 -300 -400 -500 Figure 3: Housing Trajectory 7 West Devon Monitoring Report 2012 c.