East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 Appendix 1 to Report DPP11/2009 East Hampshire District Council Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment July 2009 1 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 2 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 Contents 1. Introduction 2. The role of the SHLAA 3. Background and approach 4. Methodology a. Stage 1: Planning the assessment b. Stage 2: Sources of sites c. Stage 3: Desktop review of existing information d. Stage 4: Determining which sites and areas will be surveyed e. Stage 5: Carrying out the survey f. Stage 6: Estimating housing potential of each site g. Stage 7: Assessing when and whether sites are likely to be developed h. Stage 8: Review the assessment (including stage 9 and 10) 5. Study findings 6. Monitoring and review 7. Conclusions drawn from the SHLAA process 8. Appendices 3 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 4 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 East Hampshire Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment 2009. 1. Introduction National planning policy (PPS3) states that all Local Planning Authorities should undertake a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA). The SHLAA is seen by Government as a key tool in the development of local housing policy, and in demonstrating a 5 year supply of deliverable housing sites. The SHLAA has the following objectives: • To inform the Council’s strategy for the provision of housing to meet the South East Plan housing target for the district through its Core Strategy Development Plan Document. • To identify potential sites for new housing development and assess their suitability, availability and deliverability. • To inform the subsequent allocation of sites for housing in the Local Development Framework. • To inform the plan, monitor and manage approach for the provision of housing land and the Council’s assessment of five year supply of deliverable sites as required by PPS3. The SHLAA forms part of the background evidence for the Local Development Framework (LDF). It identifies potential housing sites within the district which can be used through the Core Strategy and the Site Allocations Development Plan Documents (DPD) to meet any shortfalls in fulfilling the housing targets set out in the South East Plan. This is the first SHLAA to be carried out by East Hampshire District Council. 2. The role of the SHLAA The SHLAA contributes towards the evidence base of the LDF. Policy decisions will be made in the appropriate DPD, not in the SHLAA. In addition, the SHLAA does not make any formal planning decisions and therefore cannot be used for development control purposes. The identification of potential housing sites, buildings or areas in the SHLAA does not state or imply that the District Council would necessarily grant planning permission for residential development. Nor does identification in the SHLAA automatically qualify the site for allocation through the Site Allocations DPD for residential or any other type of development. 5 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 Planning applications will continue to be treated on their own merits at the time of the planning application and not on the information contained in the SHLAA. The SHLAA does not prevent planning applications being submitted on any sites identified in or excluded from the report at any time. The supply of SHLAA sites will show the choices available to meet the need and demand for housing within the district. This will provide a basis for future decision making which determines the location of housing within the district. Overall, sites identified in this report and its appendices have no additional planning status and inclusion in the SHLAA does not imply a presumption of planning approval for residential development on any site. 3. Background and approach The need to conduct a SHLAA was first stated in PPS3 (November 2006). Detailed guidance has been published by the Department for Communities and Local Government, in the form of ‘Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments, Practice Guidance 2007’. This guidance sets out the process which East Hampshire District Council has followed in the preparation of the SHLAA. The SHLAA is a systematic study of land in the District which is likely to be available for housing development in the period up to 2026. The guidance highlights the importance of partnership working. This approach involves working with key stakeholders such as developers, landowners, town and parish councils, and other agencies. These stakeholders can provide expertise on the deliverability of sites, as well as advice on issues of site suitability. The 2008 SHLAA had a cut off point of November 2008 for receipt of sites. The date was due to the need to publish the report at a point that didn’t hold up the Core Strategy and the wider LDF process. 4. Methodology The methods used in East Hampshire District Council’s SHLAA are based on the guidance: Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments, Practice Guidance July 2007 published by DCLG, with some minor alterations to reflect local circumstances. The diagram below comes directly from this guidance, and sets out the stages in the process. 6 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 a. Stage 1: Planning the assessment The SHLAA was undertaken by officers of East Hampshire District Council as an in-house study. Officers from various sections of the District Council have been involved in the decisions made, and the production of the report. These included officers from Planning Policy, Development Control and the Heritage Team. 7 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 Despite initial intentions to carry out the SHLAA as a piece of joint work with Winchester City Council the timing of the two respective LDF’s meant this was not possible. However, early work on preparing the methodology and an initial stakeholder meeting was held in conjunction with Winchester City Council. The stakeholder group included representatives of other local authorities, housing developers and agents, housing associations and other bodies. A subsequent meeting of the group was held in July 2009 to discuss the draft outcomes of the study. A work programme, including key milestones for the project was prepared. Resources in terms of staff input were included in the programme. This, with subsequent amendments throughout the process, formed the basis of the project. A site of 5 or more units is set as the survey threshold. This is likely to identify as many sites as possible, without the problem of attempting to assess very small sites where it is impossible to assess delivery. The guidance states that the study should aim to identify as many sites in and around as many settlements as possible. However, planning policy guides development toward the more sustainable settlements. This emphasis is taken on board in the SHLAA to ensure that housing is developed in the larger settlements which have a range of services and infrastructure. b. Stage 2: Sources of sites. The housing sites are from a number of different sources; existing local plan allocations (baseline and reserve), outstanding planning permissions, lapsed residential planning permissions, refused planning permission but development acceptable in principle, urban capacity study sites, National Land Use Database sites, vacant and derelict land, surplus public sector land, redevelopment of existing residential areas, preliminary enquiries, sites put forward by landowners/developers, aerial surveys, non residential land and rural exception sites. c. Stage 3: Desktop review of existing information An evaluation of the above sources of sites was carried out by officers in order to determine all sites which would be included in the assessment. A survey of the GIS database was conducted for all the sites. This looked at the criteria referred to in the ‘Recording site characteristics’ stage 5 of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) guidance on SHLAA’s. From the information gathered through the site survey an initial review of sites was undertaken. 8 East Hampshire District Council SHLAA 2009 During stage 3 an attempt was made to contact the owners of all the sites that came from the Urban Capacity Study, baseline, reserve and all other non landowner submitted sources. Where this was achieved and the landowner was interested in development these sites were taken forward in the SHLAA process. All sites identified were mapped on GIS and included within an Access database. The GIS mapping information was made available on the Council’s website, together with a pro-forma for landowners and agents which could be completed on line in order to submit additional sites. d. Stage 4: Determining which sites and areas will be surveyed. DCLG Strategic Housing land Availability Assessments - Practice Guidance (Para. 21) states: “Particular types of land or areas may be excluded from the Assessment Except for more clear-cut designations such as sites Sites of Special Scientific Interest, the scope of the Assessment should not be narrowed down by existing policies designed to constrain development, so that local planning authority is in the best possible position when it comes to decide its strategy for delivering its housing objectives.” The Planning Advisory Service document – Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment and Development Plan Document preparation (Page 7) states: “There is no expectation that every possible Greenfield site should be assessed within the SHLAA. Indeed in many rural areas there will be large numbers of theoretically-possible sites, many of which are patently unsuitable for housing because of their isolation from settlements or for other reasons.” In view of the Guidance at Stage 2 an initial broad evaluation of sites was made to exclude those which were unsuitable for development and which were not worthy of being included in the survey. The following criteria were used to exclude sites as having no realistic potential for housing development:- • The site lies within a nationally or internationally designated site: Special Protection Area, Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Special Scientific Interest or National Nature Reserves.