Agenda item

Annual Monitoring Report 2017/18

Minutes:

The Committee received details of the Annual Monitoring Report, highlighting the main achievements of 2017/18. The Annual Monitoring report was a crucial part of the ‘feedback loop’ in the policy making process. It reported on the progress of planning policies, key Development Plan documents and development trends in Slough. Members were reminded that although there was a statutory duty to produce a monitoring report, it was no longer required to be submitted to the Secretary of State.

 

The key points from the monitoring report were summarised as follows:

 

·  846 net additional dwellings were completed in Slough in 2017/18. However, the Housing trajectory up to 2036showed that there was likely to be a shortage of major housing sites coming forward from 2030 onwards. It was brought to Members attention that this is why the emerging Preferred Spatial Strategy was promoting the northern expansion into South Bucks in order to enable the Council to meet local housing needs as close as possible to where they arise.

·  93% of housing completions in 2017/18 were on previously developed land (known as brownfield) and 7% on greenfield land. This was higher than in previous years when the average was 73%. A high figure is likely to continue in the near future as the supply of greenfield land runs out.

·  There were 114 affordable housing completions in 2017/18, compared to 37 provided in 16/17.

·  75% of residential completions were flats. This was partly due to the high number of prior approvals for conversions from offices to flats that have come forward as well as planning permissions. The trend was likely to continue in the future, reflecting the effectiveness of the policy in the Core Strategy that seeks to direct new development to the town centre and other urban areas where flats are acceptable whilst ensuring that development in the suburban areas predominantly consists of family housing.

·  Although a Retail Vacancy Survey showed that 11% of units in Slough High Street were vacant, 12% in the Queensmere and 8% in the Observatory Shopping Centres; the Farnham Road and Langley District Centres were thriving. 

·  There were 24 appeals against the refusal of planning applications in Slough in the 12 months from April 2017. 9 appeals (38%) were allowed by Inspectors compared to 20% or lower that had been allowed in past years. It was noted that nearly all of the appeals that were allowed related to design, character of the area or amenity which tended to be subjective judgements. Members were assured that none of the appeal decisions were considered to indicate that there was a need to review any policies.

 

Members noted the details of the Monitoring Report and approved that it be published to the Council’s website.

 

Resolved -

 

a)  That the key results from the Annual Monitoring Report 2017/18, which are highlighted in this report, be noted.

 

b)  That a full version of the Annual Monitoring Report 2017/18 be published on the Council’s website.

Supporting documents: