Land Availability Assessment 2014 Produced by Planning Services: February 2015 Contact details Email: [email protected] Telephone: 01372 474000 Address: Planning Policy Team Planning Services Elmbridge Borough Council Civic Centre High Street Esher, Surrey KT10 9SD Website: www.elmbridge.gov.uk/planning Produced by Planning Services: February 2015 Important Notice - Disclaimer In relation to the information contained within this report, and any other report relating to the findings of the Land Availability Assessment (LAA), the Council makes the following disclaimer without prejudice: The 2014 LAA forms part of the evidence base for the preparation of Local Plan Documents, which make up the Elmbridge Local Plan. It represents a ‘snapshot’ in time and draws on information contained within earlier versions The LAA is an evidence base document that only identifies sites that may have future development potential. It does not allocate sites to be developed. The Core Strategy does not include individual site allocations. Sites will only be allocated, following full public consultation, as part of the plan making process. This year the LAA represents an update of Elmbidge Borough Councils housing figures and has been produced to assess the Boroughs 5 year housing land supply and potential delivery going forward. It also includes information on potential sites for employment development and Gypsy and Traveller pitches. Detailed Opportunity Site assessments will take place through the formal plan making process when allocating sites and for this reason pro-formas for individual sites which have previously been included in the LAA have been omitted from the 2014 LAA. The identification of opportunity sites featured in the LAA does not imply the Council will grant planning permission for development on these sites. The opportunity sites in the LAA have not been considered by Council members, nor do they take account of local opinion. All proposals will be considered against appropriate national and local planning policies and any other material considerations that may apply. The inclusion of potential sites for a particular use within the study does not preclude them from being developed for other purposes. The purpose of this report is to give a broad indication of the sites with development potential. It is impossible to identify all sites that may be delivered. The study has a base date of April 2014 in terms of completions, commencements and commitments. The findings are a brief assessment of the situation at that time. Information will change over time. For that reason, the LAA will be subject to annual review, providing a key monitoring document with regards to the delivery of development across the Borough, and performance against anticipated delivery. Produced by Planning Services: February 2015 Executive Summary The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in March 2012, affirms the importance of taking an evidenced-based approach to the proper planning and sustainable development of areas. Each local planning authority is responsible for ensuring that local plans are based on adequate, up-to-date and relevant evidence about the economic, social and environmental characteristics and prospects of the area. One of the key goals of the Government is to increase economic growth and planning can contribute to this, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available in the right places at the right time to foster business innovation and competition. To facilitate this, the NPPF emphasises that assessments of strategies for all types of housing and employment land should be integrated, and take full account of relevant market and economic signals. It is the function of this Land Availability Assessment (LAA) to provide such assessment by examining the potential of land within the Borough, and how it addresses local needs and associated targets. This evidence will subsequently inform decisions on the appropriate use of such land for development purposes in the Borough as part of the Council’s Local Plan preparation and Development Management processes. In September 2013 the Government published draft guidance to accompany the NPPF and to replace and consolidate previous practice guidance. This guidance, now referred to as Planning Practice Guidance (PPG), was formerly issued by the Government on 6 March 2014. Combined, the NPPF and supporting PPG form the core national planning policy framework in which all local authorities should prepare their Local Plan documents. In updating the land availability position the Council has taken into account the NPPF, the recent publication of the PPG and the current status of the Elmbridge Local Plan. The LAA can only provide a ‘snapshot’ in time and is subject to constant change as developments are completed, planning permissions are granted and new sites with development potential are identified. Given that housing and employment land supply are such important issues in Elmbridge, regular monitoring is imperative to predict supply as accurately as possible and, if necessary, implement those contingency plans set out in the Core Strategy. As such, the Council is committed to updating the evidence base on an annual basis and at time periods that coordinate with the Authority’s Monitoring Report (AMR), in order to provide consistency between documents and make efficient use of resources. Housing Land Supply The issue of housing land supply has been considered previously under the annual review of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA). The housing element of this assessment builds on the experiences of previous SHLAAs and examines potential housing capacity in the context of two independent, but interrelated issues, namely: An assessment of the Borough’s rolling supply of potentially deliverable sites over a 15 year period, and; How the Borough is performing in meeting its Core Strategy housing target. In the consideration of such, it should be noted that, with the current monitoring year excluded, there are 11 years remaining in the Core Strategy plan period to 2026. The assessment of Produced by Planning Services: February 2015 identifiable capacity over a 15 year period therefore runs until 2030. A clear distinction is made between these timescales in the figures set out in this document. Based on current information, and taking account of the local market knowledge provided by the Development Market Panel, the evidence base shows: There is land within the urban areas to satisfy the housing requirements set out by the Core Strategy (3,375 units) The Borough has a 6.02 year housing land supply of identified sites with no reliance on small site windfalls. This supply exceeds the additional allowance of 5%, referred to in the NPPF, to ensure choice and competition in the market. The Borough has a 10.60 year housing land supply of identified sites, with a minor reliance on windfall of 0.88% The nature of housing development in the Borough is such that small sites play a significant role in total supply. It is anticipated that approximately 1,044 units could come forward from small sites over the next 15 years. There is no necessity to implement contingency measures, as set out in CS29 of the Core Strategy. Land Supply for Travellers’ Accommodation For the first time the Council has integrated an assessment of land availability for Gypsy and Travellers into the preparation of the 2014 LAA. As with land for conventional forms of housing, the Council is required by the NPPF and the Government’s policy on Planning for Traveller Sites (March 2012), to: Identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation; and Identify a supply of specific, developable sites or broad locations for growth for new pitches for years 6-10 and, where possible, for years 11-15. Following the completion of a Travellers Accommodation Assessment in 2013, which identified the number of new pitches for Gypsies and Travellers that are required in the Borough; this LAA includes information on the supply of land for new pitches/sites. The five year requirement for 2014 – 2019: 26 pitches. For 2012 – 2017 the requirement is to provide 24 pitches plus 1.2 pitches per annum from the requirement of the 12 pitches across the period 2018 – 2027 (12 pitches divided by 10 years is 1.2 pitches per annum). Four potential sites were identified with the prospective of providing a total of 40 new pitches: Land adjacent to The Oaks, Woodstock Lane, Dittons (3 pitches); Land at the former Sewage Works, Approach Road, Walton (15 pitches); River Mole Business Park, Esher (15 pitches). However, it is anticipated that there are only 3 deliverable pitches during the period 2014 – 2019. This equates to a land supply of 0.6 years on the basis of 26 pitches required plus a 5% buffer (27 pitches) or a 0.4 years supply on the basis of 26 pitches required plus a 20% buffer (31 pitches). There is a potential supply of 33 pitches which is more than the requirement plus Produced by Planning Services: February 2015 the 5% and 20% buffer. However, it is not envisaged that all of the pitches/sites can be delivered in the next 5 years. The Council anticipates that: 3 pitches at land adjacent to The Oaks, Woodstock Lane, Dittons can be delivered in years 1-5 (2014 – 2019). 15 pitches at River Mole Business Park, Esher can be delivered in years 6-10 (2020 – 2025). 15 pitches at land at the former Sewage Works, Approach Road, Walton can be delivered in years 11+ (2026+). Employment Land Supply The Council incorporated employment land supply information for the first time into its 2012 SHELAA. The employment side of the 2013 SHELAA, was based on an addendum to the 2008 Employment Land Review, which reassessed projections and demand for employment floorspace, taking account of the economic downturn.