Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response EiP document ref. EBC/4/2 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan Examination Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council’s response 28 October 2014 1 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response This page is intentionally blank 2 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response Section 2, Housing needs 2.1 There appear little dispute that Eastleigh falls entirely within a greater Southampton Housing Market Area (HMA) as defined in the PUSH SHMA (EBC/H4A (3.49 – 3.61). Any further comment? EBC2.1 No further comment. 2.2 Does the Plan adequately provide for Eastleigh Borough’s reasonable share of objectively assessed housing needs within the HMA based on current evidence? EBC2.2 Yes, on the basis of current evidence the Plan adequately provides for Eastleigh Borough’s reasonable share of objectively assessed housing needs within the HMA. This is explored in greater detail in chapter 4 of the Housing Background Paper (EBC/H1), section 4 of the Council’s response to the Inspector’s preliminary comments and questions (EBC/2) and in paragraphs 2.43 to 2.46 of the Local Plan itself. 2.4 As a starting point, does the SHMA come to reasonable conclusions as to housing needs based on demographic factors (population/household projections) consistent with the evidence available at the time the SHMA was undertaken? EBC2.3 Yes. Recognising that the 2011-based rates are likely to contain a degree of constraint in household formation, whereas the 2008-based rates are likely to over-estimate need, the core demographic conclusions fixed on a midpoint between the 2011- and 2008-based rates. For the whole of the PUSH area this represented a housing need for 4,160 homes per annum (p.a.), with 2,045p.a. in the Southampton HMA and 615p.a. in Eastleigh. The use of a midpoint headship assumption is similar to the method used by NLP in their report for Gladman (see representation ID 6666). EBC2.4 The SHMA therefore came to a set of reasonable conclusions for housing needs, although these must now be considered in view of more up-to-date demographic information. 2.5 Should the population/household projections relied on by the SHMA be adjusted to take account of the more recent 2012-based sub-national population projections and the further analysis set out in the JGC study June 2014 (EBC/H1A)? EBC2.5 Yes, however this does not mean that the SHMA is in itself out-of-date. The SHMA is one input to the objective assessment of housing needs for the PUSH area (including the borough and the Southampton HMA), and 3 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response was based on the most up-to-date information available at the time. It is relevant to consider changes to the base data (Planning Practice Guidance, ID 2a-016-20140306) and these are material to the Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011-2029. However, the outcomes from the objective assessments (see EBC/H1A, Section 9; EBC/H1, paragraphs 4.65-4.98) support the calculation of housing requirements using the PUSH South Hampshire Strategy (EBC/G7) and therefore generate conclusions that are consistent with those obtained using the PUSH SHMA. An up-date to the outcomes of the PUSH SHMA to incorporate the 2012-based DCLG household projections (when these are released) is already intended as part of the work to identify what level of development should be planned for across the PUSH area. Through Policy MR1, any up-date that requires a different response to the Submitted Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011 - 2029, July 2014 (hereafter the Submitted Local Plan)1 can be taken forward. 2.6 Does the SHMA provide a reasonable assessment of affordable housing needs? EBC2.6 Both the NPPF and PPG make it clear that the needs across a housing market area are the critical measure rather than those of an individual district. The findings of the SHMA in relation to affordable housing needs within the Southampton HMA area are considered to provide a reasonable assessment of affordable housing needs based on the information available at the time. However, as with any projection of future needs, the findings are dependent on certain assumptions e.g. future income levels and the proportion that will be available to be spent on accessing the housing market. EBC2.7 The validity of the projections at a borough level are considered to be less certain, as discussed in Chapter 4 of the Housing Background Paper (EBC/H1, in particular paragraphs 4.80 to 4.86 & 4.93 to 4.95). 2.7 Is any adjustment in housing provision above demographic projections required to help meet the identified need for affordable housing? EBC2.8 No. For the reasons set out in the Housing Background Paper (EBC/H1, paragraphs 4.48 - 4.50), the affordable housing needs across the Southampton HMA are capable of being met within the existing planned overall housing supply. 1 Submitted Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011 - 2029, July 2014, (the Submitted Local Plan) comprises i) Revised Pre-submission Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011 - 2029, published February 2014 and ii) Schedule of Proposed Minor Changes, submitted to the Secretary of State in July 2014 4 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response EBC2.9 As well as the role of the private rented sector (see paragraph 2.12 below), we would draw attention to paragraph 7.3 of the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Technical Advice Note (Objectively Assessed Need and Housing Targets2) published in June 2014. In summary this notes that calculations of affordable housing need also comprise affordable housing needs generated from existing households such as those in unsuitable housing or projected to fall into need in the future. Such needs do not create a net requirement for additional dwellings, except for those who are currently homeless or ‘concealed’. As such, if the occupiers move into suitable housing they will vacate a property that could be occupied by people for whom it is more suitable. EBC2.10 On the basis that all such households are able to move into suitable housing, and with particular reference to Table 34 of Appendix X (sic) of the SHMA (EBC/H4A, page 79), the following revised calculation of affordable need in the Southampton HMA requiring additional affordable housing can be provided: 4,033 (backlog need) plus 51,903 (newly forming households) minus 44,735 (supply) = 11,201 or 487 dwellings per annum EBC2.11 Across the HMA it is clear that the affordable housing outputs do not require an increase in estimates of the overall housing need (of all tenures). There is a precedent for such an approach being accepted by a planning inspector (see paragraph 57 of the 2 October 2014 Inspector’s Report for Mendip District Council’s Local Plan (www.mendip.gov.uk/inspectorsreport), attached as Appendix 1 to this document (page 17 below). 2.8 Are the assumptions made in the SHMA and by the Council about the continuing role of the private rented sector with public subsidy reasonable in assessing the need for new affordable housing? EBC2.12 Yes. Whilst it is accepted that the private rented sector is not a form of affordable housing as defined by the NPPF, it makes an important contribution towards meeting the housing needs of some households. There is no indication from government that there is appetite to fundamentally reform the private rented market, nor that the role of registered social landlords would be changed fundamentally. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, there is no reason to ignore its continuing potential to contribute to meeting future needs. 2 http://www.pas.gov.uk/documents/332612/6363137/Objectively+Assessed+Need+and +Housing+Targets/f22edcc2-32cf-47f1-8e4a-daf50e4412f7 5 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response EBC2.13 The findings of the Inspector on the Mendip Local Plan (2 October 2014) are pertinent to this matter. An extract of which is attached as Appendix 1 to this document (pages 15-17 below). 2.9 In meeting overall affordable housing needs, to what extent, if any, is the Council relying on delivery of new affordable housing by means other than the policy percentage required from market housing developments (see EBC/2, 4.14)? Is any such reliance justified/realistic? EBC2.14 The Council is not relying on providing any additional affordable housing other than as a proportion of open market housing in accordance with policy DM28. However, in the Council’s response to the Inspector’s preliminary comments and questions (EBC/2, paragraph 4.14) other mechanisms are identified through which the Council is seeking to address local housing needs. 2.10 Do market signals indicate that there should be any uplift in the assessment of need over and above demographic and other factors addressed above? (See SHMA EBC/H4A, 6.90-6.97.) Does the recognition in the SHMA (11.11-11.15) that: market characteristics did lead to a level of suppressed household formation and the consequential adjustment made to the most recent headship/household formation rate used in the favoured projection, adequately take account of this market factor? EBC2.15 The JGC study identifies two principal causes for the observed suppression of household formation in the period 2001 - 2011: market factors and the changing composition of some new households due to international migration (EBC/H1A, paragraph 6.6). The study found that up to 51% of the suppressed household formation within the Southampton HMA could be attributed to market factors (EBC/H1A, paragraph 6.7). A figure of up to 73% is identified within Eastleigh borough. A partial return to 2008-based trends could address the suppression of household formation resulting from economic factors that are apparent from post-2007/8 market signals (e.g. increasing rental values, increasing overcrowding) and a requirement of around 2,005 dwellings per annum is identified within the Southampton HMA (EBC/H1A, Figure 8.4). Within Eastleigh borough, a supply of c.9,900 new dwellings (2011 - 2029) is suggested for this purpose (EBC/H1A, Figure 8.3). In addition, it should be noted that market signals only identify relatively modest market pressure in Eastleigh after also taking account of longer-term assessments (of house prices, affordability and rates of development)(EBC/H4A, paragraph 6.97 and EBC H1, paragraph 4.43). The SHMA suggests that this evidence does not provide a rationale for increasing the housing supply above 6 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response demographic projections in order to improve affordability (EBC/H4A, paragraph 11.15). EBC2.16 A total supply of 10,596 new dwellings is now identified (EBC/4/3, Appendix 3) as having the potential to come forward in the Plan period. In the context of the long-term trends in local market signals, relative to national or sub-regional trends, further Eastleigh-specific action is not justified (EBC/H1, paragraph 2.20). 2.11 Will the Plan’s housing provision and resulting increase in local workforce facilitate expected/planned economic growth and employment provision as reflected in: a) The Plan’s overall employment proposals in policy S4; b) The intentions of the PUSH South Hampshire Strategy 2012, c) The ambitions of the LEP as set out in the Solent Strategic Economic Plan March 2014 (EBC/G15)? (The Council’s position is primarily set out in EBC/G12, drawing on other evidence.) EBC2.17 Yes in response to all parts of the question. Table 6 of EBC/G12 shows that the planned housing provision will involve an increase in the working population sufficient to meet the proposals in S4. In doing so, the Submitted Local Plan will meet the objectives of the PUSH South Hampshire Strategy, because the vast majority of planned development (more than 90,000m2) is for industrial purposes; cf. Policy 6 of the South Hampshire Strategy (EBC/G7). It will also meet the ‘policy off’ baseline labour demand that underpins the Solent LEP Strategic Economic Plan (see EBC/G12, Table 8). The ambitions of the Strategic Economic Plan have additional employment growth implications for the borough through its support for development at the Ford-AirportRiverside strategic site (EBC/G15, page 104), parts of which are in Eastleigh borough and are covered by policies E9, E10 and E12 in the Submitted Local Plan. The surplus labour supply available after meeting the labour demand implications of the Submitted Local Plan/Solent LEP baseline requirements is considered to be sufficient to meet the job requirements for developing the Ford-Airport-Riverside strategic site in accordance with the Submitted Local Plan (see EBC/G12, page 28). Therefore the LEP’s ambitions for job growth, as they relate to the borough, are facilitated by the Submitted Local Plan. 2.12 Projections Proj A and Proj B in the SHMA (EBC/H4A) indicate a housing requirement above those based on demographic modelling. (The figures for 7 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response Eastleigh for the plan period are summarised in EBC/H1, Table 4.2) Is the caution about relying on these projections expressed in the SHMA (11.20-11.22) justified for this Plan? EBC2.18 Yes. There are a number of additional uncertainties in economic projections relative to those for the purely demographic projections in the SHMA (see EBC/H4A, paragraphs 7.36 and 7.50) (NB: the PROJ A and PROJ B scenarios include assumptions about demographic changes). These uncertainties include: how employment rates might change in the future (linked to changes in the pensionable age, the future value of pensions, personal health); how commuting patterns might change (linked to changes in home working, fuel prices); and the influence of double-jobbing (for related considerations, see EBC/G12, paragraph 3.1.7). EBC2.19 Most significantly, the influence of these factors and their uncertainties undermines the use of the associated SHMA projections, as the additional assumptions are: 1) not correlated with any detailed interrogation of economic prospects in the PUSH area (EBC/H4A, paragraphs 7.51-7.52); and 2) largely responsible for requirements that are substantially greater than the LEP’s own objective assessment. The LEP’s assessment identifies the potential for approximately 43,800 additional jobs for the period 2013 - 2030 (Solent LEP Economic Outlook, pages 5 - 63) This compares with approximately 92,500 or 93,000 additional jobs for the period 2011 - 2031 for PROJ A and PROJ B respectively (EBC/H4A, Appendix U, Table 12 ). It should also be noted that the SHMA analysis for PROJ A or PROJ B is described as indicative, in advance of the more detailed work that was undertaken on behalf of the Solent LEP for its Strategic Economic Plan (EBC/H4A, paragraph 7.35). Notwithstanding this implied preference for the Solent LEP results, the large degree of uncertainty associated with long-term economic projections should be recognised as a substantial limiting factor, when considering economic scenarios such as PROJ A and PROJ B (see paragraph EBC2.20 below). 2.13 The Employment Land Requirements Study Update (by Nathanial Lichfield and Partners) May 2014 (EC1b1) sets out employment floorspace forecasts based on Experian economic projections of March 2014. The floorspace forecasts based on labour demand are much higher than the provisions made in the Plan: 3 http://solentlep.org.uk/uploads/documents/OE_Solent_LEP_report_March_2014.pdf 8 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response a) Is the Council justified in not seeking to increase employment provision in response to these forecasts and in preferring Oxford Economics projections for the Solent LEP and other forecasts for employment floorspace? (See EC1c July 2014: BT1-BT8, BT9-BT19, BT20-BT27 and box on p32.) EBC2.20 Yes. Employment provision should not be increased to reflect the outcomes of the NLP updated labour demand scenarios (EBC/EC1b1). The reasons for this are set out given in EBC/EC1c, principally: that economic growth assumptions can lead to errors that are very substantial (EBC/EC1c, BT44, pages 14-15); that the chosen geography is partly responsible for this (BT5, page 15; see also: EBC/EC1b1, paragraph 2.5); and that sense tests using other methods and results for a more reliable geography (the Solent LEP area) suggest that the updated scenarios are less robust estimates of future demand (BT1419, pages 18-20). The PPG also implies support for using the Oxford Economics projections for the Solent LEP area in preference (Paragraph 008, ID: 2a-008-2014036). Both sets of projections (Oxford Economics and Experian) take account of the new economic context, i.e. the emergence from recession, however long-term projections are particularly sensitive to optimism/pessimism in the macroeconomic outlook (EBC/EC1b1, paragraph 2.50) and it is more reasonable to recognise the national and global economic risks ( EBC/EC1c, paragraph 3.1.13) in setting development requirements. b) The PUSH Strategy 2012 apportions employment floorspace requirements between the constituent authorities, with a cities first approach (EBC/G7, Policy 6) and the LEP Economic Plan targets a limited number of public sector interventions to promote growth. Does satisfactory alignment of the Plan with these documents outweigh employment provision based on Borough-only employment forecasts? EBC2.21 Yes. Alignment with these documents enables the Council to discharge its duty to co-operate (NPPF, paragraph 181) and there is insufficient reason to depart from their provisions. The updated NLP labour demand scenarios are based on projecting forward past trends for employment growth within the borough using macro-economic assumptions. Past economic growth within the borough may not be repeated as businesses wishing to locate in south Hampshire will be faced with different choices (the availability of floorspace across the sub-region will Please note that ‘BT’ stands for Boxed Text. See EBC/EC1c, where substantial new additions to the evidence were made at July 2014 in the form of boxed text, to enable their differentiation from matters that had previously been considered in preparing the Revised Pre-submission Eastleigh Borough Local Plan (February 2014). 4 9 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response not mirror the past (EBC/EC1c. Tables 4 & 5)) and they may weigh the factors affecting their choice differently. Borough boundaries do not generally determine business choices (EBC/EC1c, paragraph BT10), whereas the Solent LEP area more closely approximates to a selfcontained economic area and so is less susceptible to spatial variations in employment growth. The requirements for the borough derived from the Solent LEP employment forecasts are robust compared with past trends in the development of floorspace (EBC/EC1c, paragraph BT14 BT19) and they broadly agree with the South Hampshire Strategy (EBC/G7, Policy 6). Moreover, there are no market signals or data on market intelligence that count strongly in favour of increasing the supply of floorspace in Eastleigh in particular (EBC/EC1c paragraphs 3.1.3 - 3.1.13). EBC2.22 It is recognised that the supply of new premises (NB: not necessarily additional floorspace, but its quality and nature) should increase across the LEP area/south Hampshire generally. This will be facilitated by the Submitted Local Plan and other local plans in south Hampshire (EBC/G7, Policy 6). 2.14 Does the Plan have sufficient flexibility to accommodate more employment development if economic conditions are more favourable than the forecasts relied on by the Council? What would be the implications for the adequacy of housing provision if any such flexibility was taken-up by more employment development? EBC2.23 The Plan has sufficient flexibility to accommodate more employment development, whilst respecting the most robust assessments for growth. The quantum of planned development is described as a minimum (policy S2) to recognise that projections of need are not sufficiently accurate to be considered definitive and that the policy imperative is to encourage growth (NPPF, paragraph 19). This is reflected in the development management policies of the Submitted Local Plan (DM11 - 12) which support the redevelopment and intensification of existing sites to complement the planned allocations. Moreover, locations are identified within the plan that could accommodate additional B Class floorspace (most notably policies E10 and E12, but also E9); and other employment-related uses (policies CF1, E2, E6, E7, HA2). Policies E10 and E12 in particular provide sufficient flexibility to accommodate up to 2,600 additional B Class jobs. This would bring the labour demand associated with the Submitted Local Plan’s B Class and A1 Class development to around 5,800 total jobs (see EBC/G12, Table 6/Figure 3). This compares to a potential labour supply of 8,933 residents ( EBC/G12, Table 2). Even accounting 10 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response for the labour demand associated with other sectors of the economy (EBC/G12, Section 5.2), it is considered that the planned housing provision would be adequate to meet labour demand within the borough to 2029. 2.15 How should Eastleigh Borough’s appropriate share of objective need within the HMA be determined? Should it be done by an objective assessment for the Borough only (eg EBC/H1 4.68 and EBC/H1A Fig 9.1) or should it be informed by the South Hampshire Strategy 2012(EBC/G7) (rolled forward to 2029) and, in due course, by the review of that Strategy? EBC2.24 The apportionment of south Hampshire’s agreed housing requirements has, to date, been determined through joint working by the PUSH authorities. The sub-region has been confirmed as consisting of two overlapping housing market areas (EBC/H4A, paragraph 3.49) and it is therefore reasonable and logical that all the PUSH authorities should work together on the apportionment of housing requirements. EBC2.25 Indeed, it is only by enabling the Council to work in partnership with other authorities in the PUSH area, to review the South Hampshire Strategy (EBC/G7) that the objectives, principles and policies of the NPPF would be met (NPPF, paragraph 157). The apportionment of the future housing requirement for the PUSH area, with any necessary updating in the light of new data, must have regard to objective district-level analysis (e.g. in the SHMA). However, the inadequacies of these analyses (e.g. EBC/H1, paragraph 4.89) should preclude their use in identifying an appropriate share for the borough without a corresponding review of the South Hampshire Strategy. Therefore, it is reasonable to roll-forward the South Hampshire Strategy to determine the borough’s share of the objective need for the Southampton HMA, after considering the objectively assessed need (as per: EBC/H1, EBC/H1A, EBC/H4A) and the requirements of national policy and legislation. It is unreasonable to use a borough-only objective assessment to determine this share, when considering national policy and legislation. 2.16 In the context of all the evidence, does provision in this Plan represent a reasonable contribution to meeting objective assessed housing needs within the Southampton HMA? EBC2.26 Yes. The Council’s Housing Background Paper (EBC/H1, Section 4) considers at length the apportionment of the objectively assessed need in the Southampton HMA and the provision currently planned by the 11 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response authorities that make up the market area. The JGC study for the Council (EBC/H1A) updated the projections in the light of the 2012based sub-national population projections published early in 2014, (this study is described at EBC/H1 from paragraph 4.55). The conclusions of the SHMA identified the ’most robust’ housing requirement for the Southampton HMA as 2,045 dwellings per annum; the JGC study on the same basis produced a slightly lower figure of 2,019 dwellings per annum. EBC2.27 Section 5 of EBC/H1 discusses how the identified need in the Southampton HMA will be met. The analysis shows that the planned provision by the relevant authorities, including Eastleigh, is only 50 dwellings per annum below the SHMA requirement to 2026 and about 25 per annum below the JGC requirement (750 and 375 homes respectively over the full period to 2026) (EBC/H1, Table 5.1 at paragraph 5.2). EBC2.28 This marginal shortfall in the period up to 2026, and how to address the subsequent need beyond 2026 is most appropriately addressed through the update to the South Hampshire Strategy. The Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011-29 commits to providing a minimum of 10,140 dwellings with sufficient flexibility in its strategy to deliver more than this. Current calculations (EBC/4/3, Appendix 2) are that there is potential for 10,596 dwellings in the period to 2029 which is some 456 more than the plan requirement. Note: this is a small increase from the 31 March 2014 position set out in EBC/H1, paragraph 5.14. EBC2.29 Until the South Hampshire Strategy is updated, the flexibility shown in the Plan will ensure a reasonable contribution to the objectively assessed housing need within the Southampton HMA. There is no reasonable basis for quantifying, at a borough level, an apportionment of the marginal shortfall in the period to 2026 nor indeed how all housing need beyond that time will be most appropriately met. 2.17 Given all the above, did the Sustainability Appraisal sufficiently address reasonable alternatives in relation to the overall scale of housing? EBC2.30 Yes. Appendix 2 of the Sustainability Appraisal sets out the appraisal of the range of options for housing growth considered. These are taken from the PUSH Spatial Strategy (EBC/G7) and the PUSH SHMA 2014 (EBC/H4A) and cover options across the range of the scenarios discussed in the SHMA, including both the higher and lower ends. EBC2.31 The Council has also taken account of alternative figures for the borough in assessing future housing needs (see EBC/H1, Table 4.2 and 12 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response paragraphs 4.69-4.70). These figures fall within the range of growth scenarios in Appendix 2 of the SA and are therefore considered to fall within the scope of the appraisal. The SA appraisal concludes that options at the extremes of the range appraised are not appropriate to be taken forward due to significant negative effects on the three sustainability themes ‘community’, ‘economy’ and ‘environment’ (EBC/G2, pages 87-90). Alternative figures that have been put forward in support of representations to the Revised Pre-submission Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2011-2029 and which lie outside the range appraised are not considered to be reasonable. 13 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response APPENDIX 1 Extract from ‘Report on the Examination into Mendip District Local Plan Part 1: Strategy and Policies’ (Inspector’s Report 2nd October 2014; File Ref: PINS/Q3305/429/1) 14 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response 15 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response 16 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response 17 Inspector’s pre-hearing questions November 2014: Section 2, Housing needs Eastleigh Borough Council response 18
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