Borough of Oadby & Wigston Leicester & Leicestershire Housing Market Area Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments (SHLAAs) Methodology Paper Introduction What are Strategic Housing Land What are the core requirements of the Availability Assessments (SHLAAs)? Assessment? In accordance with Planning Policy As a minimum the assessment should Statement 3 (Annex C, 2006), Local provide the following core outputs: Authorities are now required to carry out a Strategic Housing Land Availability a list of sites, cross-referenced to maps Assessment (SHLAA), in order to identify showing locations and boundaries; future sources of land for housing. The Government view SHLAAs as; assessment of the deliverability of each identified site to determine when an “a key component of the evidence base to identified site is realistically expected to support the delivery of sufficient land for be developed; housing to meet the community’s need for more homes”. (SHLAA Practice Guidance, DCLG 2007, para1) potential quantity of housing that could be delivered on each identified site; Completion of a SHLAA should enable local planning authorities to: constraints on the delivery of identified sites; and identify specific, deliverable sites for the first five years of a plan that are recommendations on how these ready for development; constraints could be overcome and when. (SHLAA Practice Guidance, DCLG 2007, Figure 1) identify specific, developable sites for years 6-10, and ideally years 11-15, in How will the SHLAA inform future plans? plans to enable the five year supply to The assessment will form a critical part of the be topped up; evidence base for future Development Plan Documents. where it is not possible to identify specific sites for years 11-15 of the plan, indicate Once completed the assessment should be regularly kept up to date as part of the broad locations for future growth; and Annual Monitoring Report. not include an allowance for windfalls This will support the updating of the housing Please note that SHLAAs DO NOT trajectory and the five year supply of specific in the first 10 years of the plan. represent policy and do not determine deliverable sites. whether a site should be allocated or How will SHLAAs differ from Urban granted permission for development. Capacity Studies (UCSs)? SHLAAs should provide a comprehensive The SHLAA exercise constitutes a more evidence base for future allocations comprehensive approach towards assessing housing documents. land availability. SHLAAs are now required to identify additional sites not previously required within UCSs. Consequently, even where there is a recent UCS in place, Local Authorities are now required to carry out a SHLAA. Methodology How will the SHLAA be carried out? The flowchart to the right has been set out by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), in order to produce the core outputs for the assessment. According to the DCLG’s SHLAA Practice Guidance, the use of this standard methodology is recommended as: “it will ensure that the Assessment findings are robust and transparently prepared”. (SHLAA Practice Guidance, DCLG 2007, para15) In addition, the guidance goes on to state that, when followed a Local Planning Authority should not need to justify the methodology used in preparing it’s assessment (including at independent examination). The Leicester and Leicestershire Local Planning Authorities, will therefore conform closely with the standard methodology. (SHLAA Practice Guidance, DCLG 2007, Figure 3) Who will be involved in the SHLAA exercise? A key aspect of the assessment is the inclusion of key external stakeholders. Hence the Leicester and Leicestershire Local Planning Authorities will be working closely with: - the House Builders Federation; - national, regional and local house builders and developers; - regional and local land owners and agents; - registered social landlords; and - local housing and planning officers. Input from the above will be critical as it will ensure that a robust and credible evidence base is developed. Methodology for the Leicester and Leicestershire Authorities SHLAA Framework Stage 2: Determining which sources of sites will be included in the Assessment. Leicester and Leicestershire Planning Authorities will be carrying out Figure 4 of the guidance states that, the individual assessments. Each of which assessment should cover the following types will closely follow the following of sites: standardised methodology*: • land allocated (or with permission) for Stage 1: Planning the Assessment. employment or other land uses which are Leicester and Leicestershire Planning no longer required; Authorities are keen to develop and carry • existing housing allocations; out a vast majority of the assessment in • unimplemented/outstanding planning house. permissions for housing; The SHLAA will be undertaken through a • planning permissions for housing that are Officer Project Group within each council under construction; incorporating planning and housing officers. • vacant and derelict land and buildings; Planning Authorities within the Leicester • surplus public sector land; and Leicestershire Housing Market Area, • land in non-residential use which may be have agreed a joint approach to the SHLAA suitable for re-development for housing; and agreed common working • rural settlements and rural exception arrangements. sites. This approach also incorporates the views The guidance goes on to state that; of house builders, land agents, land owners; gathered from the 4 week consultation “particular types of land or areas may be period on the draft methodology carried out excluded from the Assessment, as long as during November/December 2007. the reasons for doing so are justified and agreed by the members of the partnership”. Building on the responses to the above consultation, it is now proposed that the (SHLAA Practice Guidance, DCLG 2007, para21) SHLAA will be carried out between October 2007 and June 2008. Each individual planning authority has developed their own list of land/areas which The work programme outlined within the will be excluded from the assessment, based Draft Consultation Paper set April 2008 as a on local characteristics. completion date for the assessment. A full of list of land/areas excluded from This date has now been revised, as a the assessment is outlined in Appendix B. number of aspects surrounding the assessment have been expanded. A draft *Please note that North West publication is now scheduled for June 2008, Leicestershire District Council have with an opportunity for stakeholders to already completed a SHLAA (before the comment on the assessments findings new guidance). However the authority has immediately afterwards. agreed to use the standardised A proposed work programme is outlined methodology for any future in Appendix A. reviews/updates. Stage 3: Desktop review of existing Stage 4: Determining which sites and information. areas will be surveyed. Figure 5 of the guidance, sets out the Sites: As a basis for the assessment, a following list of data sources that could be threshold for sites, able to accommodate 10 used to identify sites with potential for dwellings and above will be used. housing. Exceptions will be made for Harborough Sites within the planning process: District where a threshold of 5 dwellings and above will be used. • site allocations not yet the subject of planning permission; In addition, both Oadby & Wigston and • planning permissions/sites under Hinckley & Bosworth Borough’s will apply construction; no minimum threshold. • site specific development briefs; • planning application refusals; and A more detailed explanation for the • dwelling starts and completion records. threshold used by each District is set out in Appendix C. Other potential sources of information: Areas: The SHLAAs will be controlled by • local planning authority Urban Capacity the need to bring forward sufficient sites, to Studies; ensure that Leicester and Leicestershire • local planning authority Empty Property Planning Authorities can meet rates of Register; housing provision set out in the emerging • English House Condition Survey; Regional Spatial Strategy for the East • National Land Use Database; Midlands (RSS8). • Register of Surplus Public Sector Land; • Local planning authority Employment Land To conform with the Draft RSS’s objectives Review; to promote urban regeneration and • Valuation Office database; concentration, it is expected that the • Local planning authority vacant property majority of housing is directed to the registers; principal urban area of Leicester and the • Commercial property databases; sub-regional centres of Loughborough, • Ordnance Survey maps; and Coalville, Hinckley, Melton and Market • Aerial photography. Harborough. As the above list provides a range of Consideration will also be given to potential sources, each Authority will use it at development within or adjoining other their discretion, based on local conditions. settlements, in accordance with each District’s emerging Core Strategy. A list of settlements subject to assessment is set out in Appendix D. If the initial list of settlements fails to provide a sufficient number of sites, then the geographical limits to the assessment will be broaden where necessary. This would take place within Stage 8 of the assessment. Stage 5: Carrying out the Survey. Stages 6: Estimating the housing potential of each site. In accordance with the SHLAA guidance, the following characteristics will be recorded Planning Policy