Wycombe Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment March 2009 WYCOMBE DISTRICT COUNCIL STRATEGIC HOUSING LAND AVAILABILITY ASSESSMENT (SHLAA) 2008 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 0.0 INTRODUCTION 0.1 The SHLAA is a key component of the evidence base for the Delivery and Site Allocations DPD, and is required to be carried out by national planning policy set out in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3). Its two main purposes are: a) to identify a deliverable supply of specific sites which demonstrate a five year supply of land for residential development; and b) to aid the preparation of DPDs by identifying housing potential for at least 10, and ideally up to 15, years from the adoption of the DPD. The time horizon for this SHLAA is to look ahead to the year 2026 from a base date of 31st March, 2008. 0.2 More specifically, the assessment: identifies a supply of sites and if necessary broad areas for housing development, assessed in terms of their developability and deliverability, assesses the potential amounts of housing deliverable on these sites; provides evidence of the availability of a five year supply of land for housing; assess sites in terms of their developability, in order to inform preparation of the Site Allocations DPD; and aids the regional planning body in its work to determine levels of housing provision and distribution in the region. 0.3 It is important to note that it is not the purpose of the SHLAA to allocate land for residential development. That is to be carried out through the LDF process. Therefore the identification of a specific site in the assessment does not necessarily mean that that site will be allocated for housing development or that planning permission will be granted. 0.4 METHODOLOGY 0.5 A Methodology Report for the SHLAA was published in May 2008. It follows guidance contained in the publication Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment Practice Guidance (DCLG, July 2007), hereafter referred to as the ‘Practice Guidance’ and covers the stages set out in Figure 1 below. The use of this standard methodology is strongly recommended by the Practice Guidance because it will ensure that the assessment findings are robust and transparently prepared. 0.6 The Council has sought to engage with stakeholders throughout the preparation of the SHLAA. In addition to the Methodology Report, a Progress Report was published on the Council website in December 2008 describing the work undertaken up to that date which included all of the sites save those in Appendices 9 to 13 of this report, which were yet to be fully assessed at that time. Comments were invited on both the methodology and the progress report. A Steering Group of stakeholders was also set up which met and commented on draft reports and signed off this final report. 0.7 The Practice Guidance1 identifies the types of sites with potential for housing which should be covered by the assessment, including both sites within the planning process and sites which are not currently within the planning process, e.g. vacant and derelict land, which are considered to be development opportunities. To be consistent with the previous Urban Capacity Study (Wycombe DC, 2005) the Methodology Report defined a ‘development opportunity’ as follows: “Land or a building or group of buildings, part or all of which is or could be appropriate for housing or for mixed use to include housing, and which: is evidently underused; 1 SHLAA Practice Guidance, Figure 4 1 is conspicuously inappropriate amongst nearby uses; might reasonably be expected to be targeted for development and/or; will not be needed for its present purpose in the future.” 0.8 A minimum site size threshold of 5 dwellings (gross) has also been applied, although all sites with planning permission have been included regardless of site size. FIGURE 1: FLOWCHART SHOWING SHLAA METHODOLOGY 0.9 The Practice Guidance indicates that particular types of land or areas may be excluded from the Assessment. Following consideration by the Steering Group the following areas have been excluded from the assessment unless they are already in the planning process, i.e. have a planning permission for residential development, or, in the case of Gomm Valley, have been allocated as a reserve site in the Core Strategy: new free-standing settlements2 biodiversity/landscape designations: Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), National Nature Reserves (NNR), Local Nature Reserves (LNR), Historic Parks and Gardens sites designated as open space which are in an area of open space deficiency as defined in the Open Spaces Study 2 No new free-standing settlements are proposed for Wycombe District in the South East Plan and consequently the SHLAA has not considered this option. 2 sites substantially within Floodplain zone 3b3 greenfield sites substantially within floodplain zone 3a4 Previously Developed Land sites which are outside of settlement boundaries (other than major developed sites as defined in the Local Plan) and which are not urban extensions greenfield sites within the AONB outside of settlement boundaries (except rural exception affordable housing schemes) greenfield sites within the Green Belt outside of settlement boundaries (except rural exception affordable housing schemes) 0.10 FINDINGS 0.11 It is emphasised that this is not intended to narrow down the scope of the assessment by applying existing policies specifically designed to constrain development, but more generally to reflect higher level guidance in national and regional policy. 0.12 Each site was assessed in terms of their suitability, and then if found suitable were further assessed in terms of their availability and achieveability. Each assessment used criteria agreed by the SHLAA Steering Group. The assessment was carried through to Stage 8 where it was found that it would not be necessary to go forward to Stage 9 or 10 to identify further supply. 0.13 In terms of requirements the emerging SEP requires 7,800 dwellings to be completed in Wycombe District in the period 2006-26. In addition to this figure, the Inspector appointed to examine Wycombe’s Core Strategy required provision of a further 250 dwellings to make up a shortfall against requirements set in the Buckinghamshire Structure Plan for the period 2001-06. The total requirement is therefore 8,050, to be distributed 7,240 to the Wycombe portion of the Western Corridor/Blackwater Valley sub-region and 810 to the remaining part of the District. Table 1 sets out the outcome of the assessment in relation to the identified supply of housing against housing requirements. Table 1: Outcome of Assessment part 1 – Wycombe District Housing Requirement 2006 – 2026 Dwellings A South East Plan Requirement 2006 – 2026 7800 B Inherited shortfall from Buckinghamshire Structure Plan 2001- 250 2006 C Minus Dwellings completed April 2006 – March 2008 1218 D Total Requirement 2008 – 2026 (A + B) - C 6832 Suitable and Deliverable or Developable Sites E Sites included with 6-year supply (Deliverable) 2780 F Sites anticipated to be delivered 2014 - 2019 1509 G Sites anticipated to be delivered 2019 -2026 399 H Potential greenfield sites 2190 I Total – Suitable and Deliverable or Developable sites 6878 0.14 The appraisal of the situation at the base date of 31st March 2008; 1,218 of the 2006 – 2026 requirement of 8,050 is already accounted for by dwellings completed since 1st April 2006. This leaves a requirement of 6832 dwellings over the remaining 18 years of the plan period – an average of approx 380 dwellings per annum. In total, this SHLAA identifies a developable/deliverable potential for around 6878 dwellings. Of these developers and landowners estimate that around 2780 could be delivered by March 2014 with planning permission having already been granted in the vast majority of these cases. This amounts to 18.1 years supply of developable potential, of which 7.3 years is deliverable. 3 In accordance with PPS25, Annex D 4 In accordance with PPS25, Annex D 3 0.15 It should be noted that there is further potential which has not been included, most notably from sites identified as ‘suitable’ but on which there is no information on developers’ intentions (see table 2 below). In total these sites could account for around 1598 dwellings, or a further potential 4.2 years supply but in accordance with the Practice Guidance have not been included in the assessment as developable sites. Neither has any estimate been made of other sites which might become available in the future, for example from residential intensification or redevelopment, but which cannot be identified at the present time. Table 2: Outcome of Assessment part 2 – Wycombe District Suitable sites - no information J Sites considered suitable but no information on delivery 1198 provided K Potential greenfield sites - no information 400 L Total – Suitable sites - no information 1598 M Sites considered suitable but not deliverable/developable 71 0.16 The SHLAA demonstrates that there is in excess of a 15 year supply of deliverable and developable sites when assessed against the SEP requirements for the District as a whole. However, the SEP divides the District into two areas and it is also necessary to demonstrate that there are sufficient sites in each of these areas to meet their SEP requirements. 0.17 A review of the site locations (using the Site ID codes listed in Appendix 2) reveals that there are potential sites for 5844 units or 17.2 years of supply in the Wycombe portion of the Western Corridor/Blackwater