Item 9
Report to the
Partnership for Urban South Hampshire
Joint Committee
Date:
2 October 2012
Report of:
Anne-Marie Mountifield, Executive Director
Subject:
Updated South Hampshire Strategy
SUMMARY
One of the actions in the PUSH Business Plan 2011-13 is the preparation of an
updated spatial strategy for the PUSH area. An updated strategy, called the ‘South
Hampshire Strategy’, has now been completed. It covers the full range of spatial
planning topics and looks ahead to 2026. It has been prepared with the close
involvement of PUSH authority officers and Member representatives, and with the
engagement of key interested parties. A sustainability review and habitats regulations
review have also informed the strategy’s content.
The strategy will assist the PUSH ambition to create a prosperous economy in a
sustainable way, provide a spatial framework for PUSH activities and actions, guide
and support the preparation of Core Strategies/Local Plans, and help PUSH
authorities to discharge the ‘duty to cooperate’ with neighbouring authorities on
planning issues.
RECOMMENDATION
The Joint Committee is recommended to ADOPT the South Hampshire Strategy
(attached as Appendix A), and supporting background documents attached in
Appendices B to E.
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INTRODUCTION
1. One of the actions in the PUSH Business Plan 2011-13 is the preparation of a
revised spatial strategy for the PUSH area. The existing strategy is set out in the
South East Plan; the updated strategy is intended to supersede and replace that
existing strategy which is likely to be abolished as part of the Government’s
intention to remove all regional strategies.
2. The updated strategy takes account of the refreshed PUSH Economic
Development Strategy/Preferred Growth Scenario (adopted in November 2010),
work undertaken on LDF Core Strategies/Local Plans, and recent changes in the
national policy context. It covers the revised area of PUSH i.e. excluding New
Forest District, and covers the fifteen years 2011-2026.
3. The document articulates the vision for South Hampshire’s future and sets out the
strategy to align policies, actions and decisions with that overall vision. It is an
aspirational spatial strategy which echoes the PUSH Economic Development
Strategy in seeking a step change in South Hampshire’s economic growth in a
managed, sustainable way, with the growth shared by all communities. However it
is recognised that the strategy has been prepared at a time of economic and
financial uncertainty, and with a changing policy landscape. Market conditions
currently remain weak and this is likely to mean that development of employment
sites and housebuilding in the short term will remain subdued.
THE STRATEGY’S PURPOSE
4. In a natural economic area like South Hampshire where there are substantial
economic, social and cultural linkages across local authority boundaries, the case
for working together on a shared vision and strategy is strong. This is critical if
PUSH is to realise its ambition to create a prosperous economy in a sustainable
way. The updated strategy document articulates the vision for South Hampshire’s
future and sets out the strategy to align policies, actions and decisions with that
overall vision. It aims to influence the interventions and decision-making of PUSH
authorities’ and of partner organisations
5. More specifically, the purposes of the updated strategy are to:• help realise the PUSH ambition to create a prosperous economy in a
sustainable way and recognising that the refreshed PUSH Economic
Development Strategy says that to achieve our economic growth objectives
“will require us to align our planning functions and infrastructure and site
investments to our overarching strategy”;
• provide a spatial framework for PUSH activities and actions including the
allocation of resources, and provide a context/support to bids for external
funds for projects;
• guide and support the preparation of Core Strategies/Local Plans and the
review/roll forward of adopted ones;
• be the means for PUSH authorities to largely discharge the ‘duty to cooperate’
with neighbouring authorities on planning issues with cross-boundary impacts
which the Localism Act places on all local authorities;
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•
enable PUSH authorities to show they are meeting development requirements
across South Hampshire as a whole, including dealing with development
needs which cannot wholly be met within one authority’s area.
6. The production of an updated PUSH spatial strategy is in line with the
Government’s National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which envisages that
the ‘duty to cooperate’ could be addressed through a jointly prepared strategy.
PREPARATION PROCESS
7. Preparation of the strategy commenced in summer 2011. A freelance consultant,
Stuart Roberts, was commissioned to lead the work which began with the collation
of statistical and other information. The PUSH lead officers for housing, quality
places, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability, the PUSH Planning
Officers Group and the PUSH Chief Executives Group were all involved in the
subsequent analysis and policy formulation. Member workshops were held at key
stages in the process - October 2011, January 2012 and July 2012 - to which the
Leader and planning/environment portfolio-holder of each PUSH authority were
invited, as well as every authority’s chief executive and head of planning.
8. A sustainability review and habitats regulations review were undertaken (see
paragraphs 10-11 below) and the findings of these were reported to the July
Member workshop. The recommendations from those reviews, together with the
comments received from key interested parties (see paragraphs 12–13 below),
helped shape the document.
9. The five PUSH Delivery Panels contributed to the preparation of the first draft of
the strategy document and the final draft was considered and endorsed by the
Housing and Planning Delivery Panel at its meeting on 3 September 2012.
10. The strategy is attached as Appendix A for this Committee to approve and adopt.
This will give it status as a jointly prepared strategy, enabling weight to be
attached to it in decision-making by planning inspectors and others.
SUSTAINABILITY AND HABITATS REGULATIONS REVIEWS
11. As the updated strategy is not a statutory plan, there is no legal requirement to
undertake a Sustainability Appraisal (SA) and Habitats Regulations Assessment
(HRA). However, to maximise the sustainability of the strategy, a sustainability
review and a habitats regulations review were undertaken. These followed the
same principles as a full SA and HRA, so they were titled ‘SA-Lite’ and ‘HRA-Lite’.
Both reviews were undertaken by a consultancy - Lepus Consulting - who had not
been involved in strategy preparation in order to ensure detached, independent
reviews. The non-technical summary of the SA-Lite and HRA-Lite have been
circulated with this report.
12. The SA-Lite concluded that the draft strategy performs well against sustainability
objectives, but it recommended minor amendments to strengthen the
sustainability of nine policies. The HRA-Lite identified eleven of the Strategy’s 21
policies as potentially likely to have adverse effects on European sites, but
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recommended avoidance and mitigation measures to minimise those potential
impacts. Both sets of recommendations were taken into account in finalising the
strategy.
ENGAGEMENT OF KEY INTERESTED PARTIES
13. The organisations which are covered by the Localism Act’s ‘duty to cooperate’
were invited to engage in the preparation of the strategy. Those organisations are:
the Civil Aviation Authority, English Heritage, Environment Agency, Highways
Agency, Homes & Communities Agency, Marine Management Organisation,
Natural England, Office of Rail Regulation, Primary Care Trusts, and Solent Local
Enterprise Partnership. The agencies were engaged through direct contact and
their membership of the PUSH Delivery Panels and of Transport for South
Hampshire. All except the Civil Aviation Authority, Marine Management
Organisation, and Office of Rail Regulation responded. No organisation raised
any major concerns on the emerging strategy but many detailed changes were
made in response to their comments.
14. The views of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership were especially important
given the increasing role which the Government wishes LEPs to play in spatial
planning. Solent LEP Board members provided vital input to the formulation of the
employment land section of the updated strategy in particular, based on their
knowledge of the commercial property market and development trends. The
strategy document is due to be considered by the Solent LEP Board at its meeting
on 27 September 2012 with the aim of the Board endorsing a statement of broad
support for inclusion in the strategy document. That LEP statement will be tabled
at this meeting.
SCOPE OF THE STRATEGY
15. The strategy (appendix A) covers:• Vision and priorities
• Overall spatial strategy
• Provision for new employment land and premises
• Skills and training
• Retailing and town centres
• Housing including affordable housing
• Infrastructure
• Transport
• Green infrastructure
• Gaps (between settlements)
• Arts, culture and tourism
• Environmental sustainability
• Monitoring and review.
16. The strategy is underpinned by a substantial evidence base of statistical
information and other PUSH documents. The latter are listed at the end of each
section in the strategy document. All of those PUSH documents are existing
publications except for the Sustainability Review and Habitats Regulations
Review, a background paper which explains the derivation of the employment
floorspace and housebuilding provision figures, and a background paper
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commissioned from Oxford Economics on the modelling approach. The latter
explains the methodology, data and assumptions used in preparing the economic
and demographic forecasts contained in the refreshed PUSH Economic
Development Strategy/Preferred Growth Scenario.
17. The strategy document also makes reference to the PUSH Green Infrastructure
Implementation Framework being considered at this Joint Committee meeting.
That reference will be refined following the Committee’s consideration, of the
Framework.
CONCLUSION
18. The refreshed strategy provides a more up-to-date and robust strategic framework
for local plan preparation and other decision-making by PUSH authorities and
their partners. It is based on, and will help implement, the PUSH Economic
Development Strategy. It aims to provide for the Economic Development
Strategy’s forecast employment floorspace and housebuilding requirements which
are the most up-to-date assessment of development requirements across South
Hampshire as a whole. In combination, the document’s policies and proposals will
help maximise economic growth, help bring about a renaissance of Portsmouth,
Southampton and other urban areas, and help ensure affordable family homes
and good quality jobs for all. The strategy and the partnership process of
preparing it should substantially discharge the PUSH authorities ‘duty to
cooperate’.
19. The updated strategy looks ahead to 2026. However, two PUSH authorities have
begun work on Local Plans which look beyond 2026 and before long, the
authorities with adopted plans will want to roll-forward them forward beyond 2026.
This highlights the need for an early review of this Strategy in order to provide a
strategic framework which looks further ahead. For various reasons, early 2014
would an appropriate time to formally initiate the review, albeit that preliminary
technical work will need to begin before then.
Background Papers:
Appendix A: South Hampshire Strategy
Appendix B: Sustainability Review Non-technical Summary
Appendix C: Habitats Regulations Review Non-technical Summary
Appendix D: PUSH modelling approach – background document prepared by Oxford
Economics
Appendix E: Background Paper - Employment floorspace and housebuilding
provision figures
Reference Papers:
These are listed within the South Hampshire Strategy (Appendix A)
Enquiries:
For further information on this report please contact:5 of 6
Anne-Marie Mountifield, PUSH Executive Director
02392 688921
[email protected]
Stuart Roberts, Independent consultant
0787 645 1738
[email protected]
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