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Tuesday, 23 June 2015 09:34

Local Plan Review

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The following announcement has been sent to LOSRA by Spelthorne Borough Council:

The Council is in the process of reviewing its Local Plan which sets out how much development should be allowed in Spelthorne 

The review will have to balance the need for new homes and jobs against the ability to accommodate development taking into account issues such as Green Belt, flood risk and infrastructure. At the end of the review exercise the Council will put forward how much development it thinks can be met to an independent Planning Inspector.

In preparing the Local Plan, the Council has to discuss and share its work with a wide range of other bodies to help understand whether it is taking account of planning issues across a wider area. As part of these discussions Spelthorne and Runnymede Councils have been working together to look at housing needs across their combined area over the next 20 years in a Housing Market Assessment.

The assessment is required by government and must consider future housing needs based on population and jobs growth without taking into account whether the Borough can meet this. As such, these figures are what would be required in an ideal world to meet this assessed demand, rather than what the Borough can accommodate. This aspect will be explored at a later stage as a separate part of the review of the Local Plan. Only after this will any decisions be taken.

A draft of the housing market assessment is due to be considered by Cabinet on 24 June. If agreed, the Council will be seeking views on the draft assessment in accordance with the Council’s proposed Statement of Community Involvement. The assessment will be just one part of the evidence to inform the review of the Local Plan.

Cllr Vivienne Leighton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Corporate Development said: “The Local Plan will set out the levels of development we expect to see in the Borough to 2033 and the Housing Market Assessment is a new statutory requirement which forms just one part of the evidence to inform this. I must stress these figures are not the end result; this will be curtailed by the physical capacity of the Borough. To involve stakeholders at the earliest opportunity and before key decisions have been made we are publishing our draft Housing Market Assessment from 25 June on our website and welcome comments from residents and businesses.”

Cllr Richard Smith-Ainsley, Chair of the Planning Committee said: “The draft Housing Market Assessment is due to be published on 25 June and will be available for comment on the Council’s website.  A separate exercise to establish the amount and type of housing the Borough can sustain will be carried out later. This will take into account all of the factors, such as Green Belt and flood plain that restrict development in Spelthorne.”

LOSRA expects to take an active part in the Review and has asked to be represented on the Stakeholder Forum which will be involved throughout the Review period. That request has been agreed.

3 comments

  • Comment Link Alan Doyle Sunday, 05 July 2015 10:57 posted by Alan Doyle

    Whatever the soothing noises that the Council and Councillors make about these Housing Need numbers being just one input into a larger calculation, developers have already seized on them. The Appeals on the two refused Planning Applications for The Ridings were heard last week. It was the first point that Cala Homes' barrister made, and the discussion went on at length. In fact, the Inspector asked to see the SHMA report containing these numbers as soon as it was published. I await the statement from our Council and councillors along the lines of: "It wasn't us ..."

  • Comment Link Lawrence Tuesday, 30 June 2015 18:51 posted by Lawrence

    This review is the first step on the road to eroding the Green Belt. When developers can point to huge housing "needs" they will argue that we have to build on Green Belt. The report contains 185 pages of argument with no reference to available land or to what might be the consequences for the character of the area and the environment. But what do they care!

  • Comment Link Carol Tuesday, 23 June 2015 15:45 posted by Carol

    ... 'must consider future housing needs based on population and jobs growth without taking into account whether the Borough can meet this.' Ridiculous idea! Considering that Sunbury Health Centre was built to accommodate 6,000 - but now has 19,000 patients I think Spelthorne Council has already exceeded its housing requirement in Sunbury alone. Please look somewhere else in the borough for your next round - and build the infrastructure first!

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