The new Local Plan for the Borough
Presentation Content • Background of the Local Plan • Role of Local Plan • Current Situation • Housing • Employment Land Needs • Town Centre Development
Background • OWBC is required by national government to produce a new Local Plan. • The Plan should have at least a 15 year life span. • Over the past year the Planning Policy team has undertook 2 public consultations. • The public consultations have helped shape the Plan as it is today. • The Planning Policy team is currently preparing the Pre-submission Local Plan document.
Role of the Local Plan • The role of the Local Plan is to set out the long term development strategy and strategic priorities for the Borough. • OWBC has to work with neighbouring local authorities and key stakeholders to fulfil the Duty to Cooperate. • The new Local Plan will identify: where and how many new homes should be built; the locations where businesses need more land to expand, which areas need regenerating; and, which areas should be protected. • All planning related decisions will need to be in line with the new Local Plan when adopted.
The Current Situation - Overview • The new Local Plan is broken down into different chapters, 9 of which relate to local planning policy. • For the purpose of this presentation we will focus on only 4 – Housing Delivery, Economic Prosperity and Development Allocations, and Town Centre Development. • The recently published HEDNA illustrates the Council’s identified Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAN) and the Council’s identified Employment Land Need.
The Current Situation - Housing • The OAN for OWBC is 148 new homes per year up to 2031 and 155 new homes per year up to 2036. • The figures are approximately a 65 per cent increase from the current Core Strategy target of 90 new per year. • Because of the increase need figures, further greenfield land release is required in addition to the further Direction for Growth site.
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Housing – continued • Identifying additional greenfield release sites, also ensures compliance with national government policy. • Government policy states that Council’s should not be reliant on a single site; they need to provide choice. • The OWBC Preferred Options Local Plan identified 3 further greenfield release sites.
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Housing continued • Further work has identified an additional brownfield site with the potential for residential. • The further work also identified 2 further greenfield sites with the potential for residential development; however, would only be brought forward if need required it to do so.
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Housing - continued • The 4 greenfield sites (including the further DfG) could yield a potential 1158 additional new homes. • The additional brownfield site could yield an additional 15 new homes. • The 2 longer term view sites could yield 100 additional new homes. • Supply deficit up to 2031 = - 146 (-46) • Supply deficit up to 2036 = - 1000 (approx)
Housing - continued • Through the further work a number of other sites were assessed, however these were deemed unsustainable. • The potential yield from these sites deemed unsustainable would be circa 1700 new homes.
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Housing - continued • Any shortfall identified takes account of the town centre residential allocations. • We are in a situation where we need both greenfield release and the town centre allocations to come forward and not an ‘either or’. • The shortfall identified is a minimum and could increase subject to highway and transport infrastructure evidence base work.
Housing - continued • Increase dwelling per hectare (dph). This however could render developments unviable therefore would not be encouraged. • Release more greenfield land, for example the sites that are deemed unsuitable (red). • Work with neighbouring local authorities under the Duty to Cooperate to ensure any unmet need is met elsewhere.
Employment Land Needs • The HEDNA identifies an employment need for OWBC up to 2031 of: • B1 a/b = 1 hectare (a – offices, other than those in use within class A2, b – research and development of products or processes). • B1c / B2 = 0 hectares (B1c – light industry, B2 – industrial processes). • Small scale B8 = 4 hectares (B8 – use for storage and distribution, small scale – under 9000sqm).
Employment Land Needs - continued • The term ‘employment land’ refers to land falling within the B use classes mentioned earlier. • The term does not include any use that creates employment opportunities. • The key challenge for the Borough is where to locate the amount of employment land identified.
Employment Land Needs - continued • The Preferred Options Local Plan document locates a further 2.5 hectares of employment land at the further Wigston DfG. • Initial developer responses have suggested that there is currently no market interest for land at the Wigston DfG. • The Council are currently undertaking further work regarding employment land needs and how ‘fit for purpose’ existing employment sites are. • The Council needs to take account of both additional need, and need for ‘churn’.
Town Centre Development • The Council currently has an adopted Town Centre Area Action Plan document (AAP). • The AAP document will be superseded by the new Local Plan, however will contain very similar policies. • The AAP contains policies relating to development management, as well as policies relating to levels of development.
Town Centre Development - continued • Levels of development set out within the current AAP are: Wigston • 9,000sqm of new office space • 11,800sqm of new retail space (circa 3,000sqm additional) • 150 new homes Oadby • 800sqm of new office space • 5,070sqm of new retail space (circa 1000sqm additional) • 75 new homes
Town Centre Development - continued • Current evidence relating to retail capacity suggests the following is needed: Wigston • 2,138sqm of new retail (additional) Oadby • 1,959sqm of new retail (additional) • The Planning Policy team are currently working on a light touch review of the AAP policies to ensure they are up to date for when they are fed into the new Local Plan.
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