B318 Sustainable Development Working Party 23 November 2010 St Edmundsbury Local Development Framework – Annual Monitoring Report Summary 1. The paper accompanies the sixth Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to be produced by the Council. 2. The Working Party is asked to recommend to Cabinet that:- (1) the 2009/10 Annual Monitoring Report be approved for submission to GO-East; and (2) the Head of Planning and Economic Development Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, be authorised to incorporate into the submitted Annual Monitoring Report any further minor changes as are necessary to update it and make any spelling, grammatical, factual, formatting and numbering corrections, provided they do not materially affect the substance or meaning of the Report. 1. Purpose of Report 1.1 Local Planning authorities are required to submit an AMR to the Government annually. This report presents the draft AMR for consideration by the Working Party. This Report accompanies the sixth Annual Monitoring Report to be prepared by the Council. The AMR reports against a number of local and national targets to assess the Council’s planning policies in terms of the delivery of sustainable development. 2. Background 2.1 The regulations covering the preparation of Local Development Frameworks require local planning authorities to prepare and submit to their Regional Government Office, an Annual Monitoring Report covering the previous financial year. The reports have to be received by the Government Office on or before 31 December of the following year. -1 - 2.2 Guidance was published on the content of Annual Monitoring Reports in March 2005, to accompany Planning Policy Framework 12: Local Development Frameworks. Further guidance was published in October 2005 to clarify the required data to be submitted in the report. Essentially the document reports on the amount of housing being delivered as well as the range of planning policies being used in the Borough and their success at delivering sustainable development. 2.3 It is the sixth report to be prepared by the Council and has been prepared in the same format as that for previous year in order to provide a level of consistency. Summary of the AMR 2.4 Key messages from the 2009/2010 Annual Monitoring Report include:- (a) Housing completions - The net annual number of housing completions in 2009/2010 was 362 dwellings. This falls short of the Structure Plan annual requirement of 440 homes per annum, but it should be noted that the annual average completion rate between 1996-2010 is 480 homes which is in excess of the annual requirement. Long Term Housing Completions 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 /97 /98 /99 /00 /01 /02 /04 /05 /06 /07 /08 6 7 8 9 0 1 3 4 5 6 7 199 199 199 199 200 200 2002/03 200 200 200 200 200 2008/09 2009/10 Bury St Edmunds Haverhill Rural Average (b) Housing completions on previously developed land - In 2009/2010 the total number of completions on previously developed land equates to 56.9%. This is in excess of the 40% target in the Replacement Local Plan. -2 - Housing Completions on Previously Developed Land 300 250 200 150 Number 100 50 0 Bury St Edmunds Haverhill Rural 2008/9 2009/10 (c) Housing Land Availability – Taking into account current planning consents and land that is allocated in a Development Plan, there is sufficient land identified to meet the planned housing requirements for at least the next 20 years. (d) Employment completions – 19,283 square metres of employment floorspace have been developed in the 2009/2010 monitoring period. This is a decrease in comparison to completions in the 2008/2009 monitoring period. However, 100% of employment completions in the monitoring period took place on previously developed land. (e) Unemployment – Early 2010 figures (February) indicate that the unemployment rate has seen a slight decrease since 2008/2009 from 3.2% to 2.5%. The 2009/2010 figure still remains below the County figure of 2.9%. -3 - 4 3.5 3 2.5 Unemployment timeline 2007 - 2010 Rate (%)2 1.5 1 0.5 0 (f) Ageing population – 2007 2008 2009 2010 the growth of the age group of 65+ residents has increased in St Edmundsbury by a third more than the County rate. The latest Government projections indicate that the proportion of the population beyond working 140.0 age is set to increase significan 120.0 100.0 Year The 2009 mid-year population estimates show that 80.0 22.7 Number60.0 (000's) St Edmundsbury 23.4 Suffolk 40.0 24.0 Population Growth 2008- 2031 Source: Office for National Statistics 24.6 60.9 tly over the next 20 years. 20.0 25.4 60.9 26.2 0.0 60.9 26.8 19.3 61.0 2008 27.4 19.4 61.0 2009 28.0 61.0 19.4 2010 28.6 19.5 61.2 2011 29.1 19.5 61.3 29.7 (g) 2012 61.4 19.5 30.2 Average wage - 2013 19.5 61.5 30.8 2014 19.6 61.7 31.4 were at an average of £508 per week.201 The5 Borough’s average earnings 19.8 61.9 have now equalled that of 32.2 2016 62.2 lower than the regional and national averages. 19.9 32.9 Children 2017 62.5 20.1 33.6 2018 62.6 20.2 34.4 2019 62.7 Gross earnings in St Edmundsbury at the 20.3end of 2009 35.2 2020 62.9 Year 20.3 35.9 Working age 2021 63.0 20.4 36.7 2022 63.0 20.4 37.4 2023 the County, although still remain significantly 20.4 63.0 38.1 2024 20.4 62.9 Older people 2025 20.5 62.9 2026 62.9 20.5 2027 -4 - 20.6 62.9 2028 20.6 2029 20.7 2030 20.7 2031 Average weekly earnings timeline 700 600 500 400 St Edmundsbury Suffolk East of England 300 England Weekly Pay (£) Pay Weekly 200 100 0 2007 2008 2009 Year 2.5 Under current planning regulations the Council is required to have an up to date timeline for the delivery of the documents within the Local Development Framework. This is called the Local Development Scheme. Section 2 of the AMR provides an update on the progress made on achieving the timescales set out in the 2009 Local Development Scheme as at 1 April 2010. 3. Recommendation 3.1 The Panel is asked to recommend to Cabinet that:- (1) the 2009/2010 Annual Monitoring Report be approved for submission to GO-East; and (2) the Head of Planning and Economic Development Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning, be authorised to incorporate into the Annual Monitoring Report any further minor changes as are necessary to update it and make any spelling, grammatical, factual, formatting and numbering corrections, provided they do not materially affect the substance or meaning of the Report. For further information contact: Ian Poole, Planning Policy & Specialist Services Manager, Planning and Economic Development Services Telephone: (01284) 757350 Email: [email protected] W:\Democratic WP Services\Committee\Reports\Sustainable Development Working Party\2010\10.11.23\B318 St Edmundsbury LDF Annual Monitoring Report.doc -5 - Annual Monitoring Report 2009/10 1 Introduction 1 2 St Edmundsbury Local Development Scheme 2 3 Borough Profile 5 3.1 Characteristics of St Edmundsbury 5 3.2 Population and Demographics 7 3.3 Community Indicators 12 3.4 Economic Indicators 17 3.5 Housing and Planning 22 4 Development Strategy 26 5 Housing 30 5.1 Scale of Housing Provision 31 5.2 Affordable Housing 34 5.3 Housing Density 38 5.4 Mix of Housing 39 5.5 Provision for Gypsies and Travelling Show People 39 5.6 Housing Trajectory 40 6 Employment 47 6.1 Scale of Employment Development 47 6.2 Employment Land Availabilty Figures 50 7 The Rural Area 53 8 Leisure 55 9 Town Centres and Retailing 56 10 Travel 58 11 Heritage and Conservation 62 12 Natural Environment 64 13 Facilities for the Community 66 Annual Monitoring Report 2009/10 14 Significant Effects Indicators 69 Appendices Appendix A Glossary of Terms lxxi Appendix B Saved Replacement Local Plan Policies lxxvi Appendix C LDF Evidence Base lxxx Appendix D Use Classes Order 2010 lxxxii St Edmundsbury Borough Council Annual Monitoring Report 2009/10 1 Introduction This is the sixth Annual Monitoring Report for St Edmundsbury’s planning policies. It covers the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 and has been prepared in accordance with the governments published guidance Local Development Framework Monitoring: A Good Practice Guide published in March 2005. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires every local planning authority to submit an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to the Secretary of State by 31 December. The AMR is required to: review actual progress in terms of local development document preparation against the timetable and milestones in the local development scheme; assess the extent to which policies in local development documents are being implemented; where policies are not being implemented, explain why and to set out what steps are to be taken to ensure that the policy is implemented; or whether the policy is to be amended or replaced; identify the significant effects of implementing policies in local development documents and whether they are as intended; and set out whether policies are to be amended or replaced. Borough Planning Policy context The Replacement St Edmundsbury Borough Local Plan 2016 was adopted by the Borough Council on 27 June 2006 and used the Suffolk County Structure Plan as its strategic framework in terms of the amount and location of growth.