WILTSHIRE COUNCIL Town and Country Planning Act 1990 Appeal by Charlcombe homes Ltd against the refusal of planning permission for Erection of up to 26 dwellings - outline application: all matters reserved other than access At Land at the Grange Devizes Road Hilperton Wiltshire BA14 7QY Planning Inspectorate Reference: APP/Y3940/W/17/3167022 Local Planning Authority Reference: 16/01633/OUT Housing Land Supply Statement of Case PERSONAL INTRODUCTION My name is Mark Henderson. I am currently the Manager of the Monitoring and Evidence Team and have held this position since September 2014. I previously held the position of senior planning officer at Wiltshire Council and the former Wiltshire County Council for over 7 years. In my role I am responsible for assessing housing delivery across Wiltshire. This involves monitoring the progress of sites from application through to development; identifying any constraints to development; assessing the requirement for future housing and assessing the deliverable supply. I have a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Studies and a MA in Town and Country Planning. I have been a full member of the Royal Town Planning Institute since 2012. The evidence which I have prepared and provide for this appeal is true and has been prepared and is given in accordance with the guidance of my professional institution and I confirm that the opinions expressed are my true and professional opinions. WC Housing Land Supply Proof of Evidence 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This statement seeks to present the land supply position in conformity with the National Planning Policy Framework (DCLG, March 2012) and the National Planning Practice Guidance (DCLG, March 2014). It assesses the land supply with a base date of 1st April 2016, and covers the period to 2021. 1.2 The latest land supply assessment was published in March 20171 and takes into account evidence on the delivery of specific sites; new sites gaining permission or having resolution to permit; progress of Neighbourhood Plans; the Wiltshire Core Strategy Examining Inspector’s final report and relevant appeal decisions. 2.0 CONTEXT 2.1 There are three Housing Markets Areas (HMAs) in Wiltshire as defined by the Wiltshire Core Strategy (adopted on 20 January 2015). The application site falls within the North and West HMA (NWHMA). 2.2 In October 2015 the council published a housing land supply statement demonstrating a 5.60 year supply for the NWHMA. However, shortly after, in November 2015, the Examination of the Chippenham Site Allocations Plan was suspended due to concerns raised by the examining Inspector on the deliverability of the proposed site allocations2. This necessitated the exclusion of the Chippenham allocations from the housing land supply trajectory, resulting in a loss of 485 dwellings from the deliverable supply and a revised 5 year supply position of 4.73 years. 2.3 A subsequent appeal decision3, issued 10 October 2016 further reduced the housing land supply position for the NWHMA to 4.25 years (with an April 2015 base date). 2.4 The council then published an updated HLSS on 1 November 2016, with an April 2016 base date, taking into account the conclusions of the Inspector in the recent appeal decision and also continuing with the exclusion of dwellings associated with proposed allocations contained within the Chippenham Site Allocations Plan (CSAP). At that point in time, there was not a demonstrable 5 year supply in the NWHMA. 2.5 The Inspector’s final report on the CSAP was received on 21 February 2017. The report concludes that the CSAP is sound subject to main modifications. Most importantly the Inspector now considered the Chippenham site allocations 1 Provided as Appendix 1 to this Statement 2 In his letter to the council dated 16 November 2015, included as Appendix 2 3 Land to the west of A365 Shurnhold, Melksham, Wiltshire (APP/Y3940/W/15/3132915), included as Appendix 3 WC Housing Land Supply Proof of Evidence 2 deliverable. Following approval by Cabinet on 14 March, the CSAP is timetabled for adoption in May 2017 and, due to being at such an advanced stage, can now be given significant weight in decision making. The CSAP is timetabled for adoption in May 2017. 2.6 The Council considers that the publication of the CSAP Inspector’s report is significant new evidence and has responded by publishing an updated assessment of housing land supply in March 2017. The latest HLSS also has a base date of April 2016, and identifies sufficient land supply for the North and West Housing Market Area (NWHMA). 3.0 HOUSING LAND REQUIREMENT 3.1 Paragraph 030 of National Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) sets out what should be used as the housing requirement in the assessment of land supply. It states: “…Considerable weight should be given to the housing requirement figures in adopted Local Plans, which have successfully passed through the examination process, unless significant new evidence comes to light. It should be borne in mind that evidence which dates back several years, such as that drawn from revoked regional strategies, may not adequately reflect current needs. Where evidence in Local Plans has become outdated and policies in emerging plans are not yet capable of carrying sufficient weight, information provided in the latest full assessment of housing needs should be considered. But the weight given to these assessments should take account of the fact they have not been tested or moderated against relevant constraints. Where there is no robust recent assessment of full housing needs, the household projections published by the Department for Communities and Local Government should be used as the starting point, but the weight given to these should take account of the fact that they have not been tested (which could evidence a different housing requirement to the projection, for example because past events that affect the projection are unlikely to occur again or because of market signals) or moderated against relevant constraints (for example environmental or infrastructure).” 3.2 The adopted housing requirements for Wiltshire were tested and scrutinised by Inspector Seaman through the Examination of the Wiltshire Core Strategy and found sound. In his report the Examining Inspector considered the extent that the housing requirements in the Wiltshire Core Strategy should be adjusted to take into account WC Housing Land Supply Proof of Evidence 3 development of 900 dwellings in Wiltshire to the West of Swindon. Inspector Seaman set out his conclusion on this matter in paragraph 87 of his final report as follows “I have considered whether the soundness of the CS as a whole is undermined by the approach taken towards these homes. Indeed, I have considered the necessity to modify the CS in order to specifically exclude either all or a proportion of the 900 homes from contributing towards the CS requirement of 42,000 homes or, alternatively, to raise the minimum requirement above 42,000. To do either would necessitate the identification of additional housing land within Wiltshire. Given that the Council has committed itself to an early review of the CS, that over 200 of the west of Swindon homes are anticipated to be delivered later in the plan period, from 2019/20 onwards, and that a small proportion of the west of Swindon homes will likely and practically contribute towards the Wiltshire housing requirement, I consider that any necessary additional provision would be proportionately small. This matter can be dealt with most expeditiously through the planned early review of the CS which will include the new joint SHMA, without prejudice to the overall soundness of the CS.” 3.3 It is clear that the appropriate mechanism for dealing with the West of Swindon allowance of 900 dwellings has been identified by the WCS Examining Inspector as being through the review of the Wiltshire Core Strategy. In July 2015 Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council jointly commissioned a Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) signalling the commencement of that review. It is anticipated that the outcome of the SHMA will be published in the summer of this year. 3.4 It is important to note that the results of the SHMA will not immediately supersede the housing requirements in the recently adopted local plan but will first need to undergo testing through the plan making process4. Until that process has been completed the housing requirements in the Wiltshire Core Strategy will remain the starting point for the assessment of housing land supply, unless the council does not actively consider the new evidence contained in the SHMA within a reasonable period of time. As the Hunston judgement makes clear on the subject of determining the housing requirement to be applied, “it is not for an Inspector on a Section 78 appeal to seek to carry out some sort of local plan process as part of determining an appeal”5. 4 As is made clear in the Ministerial Statement from Brandon Lewis MP to the Planning Inspectorate titled “Strategic Housing Market Assessments” dated 19 December 2014. Attached as Appendix 4 5 Paragraph 26 of Hunston v SSCLG [2013] EWCA Civ 1610 WC Housing Land Supply Proof of Evidence 4 3.5 As concluded by Inspector Seaman the housing requirement for the NWHMA is 24,740 for the period 2006 - 2026. Recent appeal decisions in Wiltshire have considered this point6, all of which concluded that the housing requirement for the HMA set out in the adopted Wiltshire Core Strategy was the correct housing requirement to be applied when assessing the housing land supply position. 4.0 BUFFER 4.1 Paragraph 47 of the NPPF sets out a requirement for a Local Planning Authority to identify and annually update a housing land supply of five years with an additional allowance of 5%.