Example District Council Reg 18 Draft Local Plan
Chapter 6 – Spatial Strategy
Spatial Strategy and Settlement Hierarchy Comment
6.1 The spatial policies are intended to provide the overarching framework for development within the District, providing the locational strategy to be adopted when allocating land for development. Government policy through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) is to promote the more efficient use of land by locating development, wherever possible, on previously developed land in sustainable locations.
Assessing Local Housing Need Comment
6.2 The Local Plan needs to make provision to meet the need for market and affordable housing over the plan period. This Regulation 18 consultation calculates housing need using the government's standard method.
6.3 The population of Example District is currently 143,400 and is projected to rise to 154,833 by 2041. The Local plan translates the growth in population into a need for a particular number of new homes, which it then distributes in a sustainable pattern across the whole of the district.
6.4 Whilst the Council is using the government's Standard Method to calculate housing land need for the plan period within this draft Local Plan, the Council has commissioned a Local Housing Needs Assessment which assesses housing need as well as affordable and specialist housing.
6.5 Since 2021 there have been 1,127 housing completions. Details on housing completions are recorded annually in the Council's Authority Monitoring Reports and Annual Position Statements.
6.6 The minimum Local Plan requirement for Example District is 14,020 dwellings across the plan period 2021 – 2041, equating to 701 dwellings per annum. Whilst the housing requirement is based on the Standard Method Calculation, the Local Plan trajectory (which indicates broadly when and how much housing the Council expects to be delivered) contains a "buffer" of around 21% above the minimum Local Plan requirement of 14,020 new homes by 2041. The purpose of the buffer is to provide developers with a greater choice of sites and a contingency in case some which are included in the supply are not delivered within the timeframes anticipated. This should help ensure the Council delivers at least the full requirement.
6.7 Based on the context, vision and objectives of the Local Plan, Policy SP1 sets out the overarching spatial strategy for the Local Plan. This is then followed by Policy SP2 -Settlement Hierarchy. Taken together, they indicate how the total number of new homes that are to be built will be distributed across the district to achieve a sustainable pattern of development.
Policy Type: Significant Changes to Policy
SP1: Spatial Strategy Comment
The Local Plan will deliver sustainable growth across the District and throughout the Plan Period (2021-2041). To achieve new growth the Local Plan includes allocations for both housing and employment land.
All allocations proposed in the Local Plan are the most suitable and sustainable development options and provide for a variety of site types and sizes to ensure choice is offered to the market and delivery is achievable.
The housing need for Example District, using the Standard Method, is 14,020 new dwellings. To ensure the need is met in full, the minimum Local Plan requirement for Example District is 14,020 dwellings across the period 2021 to 2041.
The overall strategy of the Local Plan is to deliver sustainable growth, including new housing and job creation, in order to facilitate growth in the local economy and support local residents. The focus for the majority of growth is in and around the sub-regional centre of Town 1 and the three market towns.
Larger Villages will provide a supporting role in meeting the development needs of the District. Development should create strong, sustainable, cohesive and inclusive communities, making the most effective use of appropriate previously developed land (where possible) and enabling a larger number of people to access jobs, services and facilities locally. Development should provide the scale and mix of housing types that will meet the identified need for Example District (as informed by the Local Housing Needs Assessment) and a range of new job opportunities in order to secure balanced communities (as informed by the Employment Land Study).
Decisions on investment in services and facilities, and on the location and scale of new development, will be taken on the basis of the Settlement Hierarchy as set out in Policy SP2.
Summary of Proposed Changes
Policy SP1 has been updated to reflect the new plan period up to 2041, and the new housing need.
The Local Plan needs to make provision for market and affordable housing over the plan period. The Government's Standard Method established a minimum need of 14,020 dwellings from 2021 to 2041, equating to 701 dwellings per annum. A Local Housing Needs Assessment has been prepared which confirms the use of the Standard Method.
The agricultural land section has been removed from Policy SP1 and placed into a new policy for clarity.
