Agenda item

Paul Stimpson, Planning Policy Lead Officer, outlined a report to update Members on the results of the Berkshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment and the proposed time table for the Review of the Local Plan for Slough.

The Officer advised that the Council, together with the other authorities and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), had commissioned a Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) for Berkshire and South Bucks. This was needed to prepare the Local Plan as it determined which Housing Market Area (HMA) Slough sat within and calculated the “objectively assessed” housing need for the Borough. 

The Committee noted the purpose of, and how HMA’s were defined with reference to the results of other studies that been undertaken including Buckinghamshire which had excluded South Bucks from the Central Buckinghamshire HMA. The study looked at areas such as house prices, commuting patterns and where people moved. Inevitably, housing patterns and trends did not follow Local Authority boundaries. 

Two HMA’s were identified; the eastern one consisted of Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead and South Bucks and the western one consisted of Bracknell, Wokingham, Reading and West Berks. It was highlighted that South Bucks District Council had  declined to be part of the SHMA and so far had not accepted that there should be two Housing Market Areas. South Bucks and Chiltern districts are now  preparing  a joint Local Plan even though they have  been identified as being in two different Housing Market Areas.

The Officer advised that it was proposed Slough BC should continue to work with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and South Bucks District Council to consider how new housing could be distributed within the HMA whilst continuing to work with all of the other Councils in the area as part of the Duty to Cooperate.

The Committee noted the calculation of the Objectively Assessed Housing Need and that data for Slough indicated that the Borough had the most diverse population in Berkshire, having grown by 18% between 2001 and 2013. The area also had a very young age profile with 9.2% pre-school and 20.3% at school, and a comparatively high birth rate and high levels of overcrowding. It was noted that 14.9% of households had five or more residents and all of these factors pointed to increased pressure for housing from the existing population.  Slough had an objectively assessed housing need of 927 a year, being the highest in Berkshire. This compared to 635 in Bracknell Forest, 856 in Wokingham and 712 in Windsor and Maidenhead. It was noted that Slough’s current housing target was 315, presenting a large gap between that and the assessed future need.

The Council now had the opportunity to consider its response to the publication of the new housing need figures. It was highlighted that the Council’s Five Year Plan had already adopted an unofficial target of building 550 dwellings a year and it was felt that this should be used as the target in calculating the 5 Year Land Supply. This would mean increasing the current housing target figure from 315 to 550 per annum for the next five years and should help to ensure that the Council would meet more of its  housing needs in the short term.

The Officer discussed the proposed timescale for reviewing the Local Plan and advised that the Council was in the process of carrying out a Housing Capacity Study which would take account of the results of the “Call for Sites” exercise which would  take place in January. It was extremely unlikely that sufficient land would be found to achieve the  building rate suggested by the objectively assessed needs work over the new plan period up to 2036.

The Committee noted the option to promote the northern expansion of Slough through the development of a “Garden Suburb” in South Bucks and that all of the Council’s existing planning policies would remain in place until they were replaced by the new Local Plan. It was formally agreed to carry out a Review of the Local Plan for Slough in February 2015 and the officer discussed the work carried out to date and future requirements for a Housing Capacity Study and an Employment Land Review.

A “Call for Sites” exercise would be carried out in January and this would invite members of the public, land owners, developers and any other interested parties to put forward suggestions for the redevelopment or re-use of land or property in Slough. All  suggestions received would form part of a public consultation exercise. The Committee noted the detail of other important work that would have to be carried out including further work on part of the Review of the Local Plan and identifying sites that could be  developed in and around the centre.

The Officer discussed the timing of the Government’s decision on the proposal to build a third runway at Heathrow as this would have significant implications for the review of the Local Plan and could result in a need to adjust the timetable. The Local Plan for Slough could not be  prepared in isolation from the plans that were being prepared by adjoining authorities and representations had been made to South Bucks that they  needed to consider issues such as the creation of a garden suburb in the technical work  they would carry out in order to review their plan. This would have implications for the timetable for the Review of the Local Plan for Slough in that it may not be possible to determine what the overall strategy would be for the town until it was known whether  there would be an urban extension to the north.

Members noted that in the Housing and Planning Bill, the Government had stated that all Local Plans should be reviewed by 2017. This requirement should be met by producing an Issues and Options consultation and a draft plan.

Resolved-

a)  That the results of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment, which includes an “objectively assessed” housing need figure for Slough, be noted.

b)  That Slough’s housing target be increased from 315 dwellings a year to 550 dwellings a year for a five year period in line with the Council’s Five Year Plan.

c)  That the Council should continue to work with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead and South Bucks District Council to consider how new housing could be distributed within the Housing Market Area.

d)  That the proposed time table for the Review of the Local Plan for Slough be noted.