Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm, as a correct record, the minutes of the Local Plan Sub-Committee meeting held on 17 October 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Items of other business notified under Council Procedure Rule 30 to be announced, together with the special circumstances that justify their consideration as a matter of urgency. The Chairman to rule on the admission of such items.

There was none.

To receive any declaration of interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

This report sets out the next steps and work required on the Local Plan in preparation for the Regulation 19 consultation in November 2025.

Recommendation:

That the Local Plan Sub Committee notes the contents of this report.

The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation presented a report which set out the work stages which had been completed, next steps, and work required on the Local Plan in preparation for a Regulation 19 Consultation in November 2025.

The sub-committee noted that the new NPPF had been released in December 2024, and that the Regulation 19 draft Plan would therefore need to be prepared against that document.  The required updates to the Local Housing Needs Assessment and the Economic Study had been completed and were summarised in topic papers later on the agenda.

The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation summarised the following key points:

·        The Plan was required to cover a period of 15 years from adoption, starting with the current year.  As adoption was expected in 2026, the Plan would cover the period 2025 - 2041 (i.e. a period of 16 years) which resulted in a total of 13,312 dwellings across the plan period using the new standard method target of 832 dwellings per annum.  When existing commitments such as planning permissions and a windfall allowance were factored in, this figure fell to c.11,500 dwellings.  This represented the approximate number of new homes which would need to be planned for prior to taking the Green Belt into consideration.

·        The Green Belt Review would help to assess which areas of the District now fell under the new definition of ‘Grey Belt’ and whether the development proposed in the plan would fundamentally undermine the remaining Green Belt.  The Government had advised that it would shortly be publishing updated Planning Practice Guidance on the Green Belt.  This was expected to include a new Green Belt review methodology and a standard approach. The Government had stated that this would be released by the end of January; however, it was still awaited at the current time and the Green Belt review was unable to proceed until the new methodology was known.  Once it became available a tender process could be finalised in order to select consultants to work on the review.  Officers confirmed that funding had been applied for to cover the costs associated with this work.  The Head of Planning Policy and Conservation highlighted that the Green Belt Review was an important piece of evidence work not just because of the potential policy and site assessment implications, but also because it needed to be completed before officers could judge the level of growth which might be accommodated within the District.   The latter would help to inform the potential for removing sites based on their impact on the remaining or wider Green Belt.  This in turn would have an impact on further evidence work and thus may also affect the timeline for the production of the draft Plan.

·        Officers were working on putting together a draft list of sites in anticipation of the need for this to help inform the Green Belt review work.  A Call for Sites was currently being undertaken, asking for developers and landowners to come forward with any  ...  view the full minutes text for item LPSC53/25

This report provides an overview of the two draft topic papers which have been prepared (housing and employment and economy) to assist with the formulation of the emerging Local Plan.

Recommendation:

That the Local Plan Sub-Committee note the contents of this report and agrees to publish the following evidence studies to the emerging Local Plan Evidence Base (online website):

 i.         South West Hertfordshire Local Housing Needs Assessment Update, produced by Iceni (Appendix 3)

ii.         South West Hertfordshire Economic Study, produced by Hatch (Appendix 4).

The Senior Planning Officer and Planning Officer (Policy) presented the draft Housing and Employment topic papers.  The Local Plan Sub-Committee was invited to note the contents and agree to publish Appendices 3 and 4 to the emerging Local Plan Evidence Base which could then be used by Development Management during decision-making.  The sub-committee heard that the topic papers were 'living' documents, which would be updated throughout the plan-making process in order to reflect updated evidence and changes to the policy context.

The Senior Planning Officer provided an overview of the Housing topic paper, including the policy context, historic housing supply, and current and future evidence base.  In relation to the findings of the Local Housing Need Assessment (LHNA), the following key points were highlighted:

·       Owner occupation was most prevalent tenure type across south-west Hertfordshire, with Three Rivers having the highest levels of home ownership in the sub-region at 72%.  Three Rivers had the lowest percentage of private rented dwellings across the subregion, as well as the second lowest percentage of socially rented dwellings.

·       Within Three Rivers, 3-bedroom dwellings were most common, followed by 4- bedroom+, 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom. The LHNA analysis suggested that the greatest growth in the total housing stock between 2011-21 had been in 4+ bed dwellings (reflecting trends in rises of extensions to properties).

·       The LHNA summarised that the standard method figures should be taken forward as providing an appropriate assessment of housing need.

·       The total affordable housing need per annum within Three Rivers was 527, split between 364 units for rented products and 163 home ownership units.  For Three Rivers to meet full affordable housing need, approximately 1317 dwellings would need to be delivered per annum (if 40% of all dwellings delivered were affordable housing products, in line with emerging policy).   The evidence from the study had suggested an increase in the discount from market value from 30% to potentially 40% in Three Rivers, given the high affordability issues in the District.  The LHNA had also set out a case for Local Plan policies which supported provision of a range of affordable home ownership products.

·       Given that all of the need was unlikely to be met, prioritisation of certain types of affordable housing was important.  The LHNA stated that “the evidence points to a clear and acute need for rented affordable housing for lower income households, and it is important that a supply of rented affordable housing is maintained to meet the needs of this group”. At a strategic level across south-west Herts, the LHNA recommended that 70% of affordable housing should be focused on rented provision, and 30% intermediate/low cost home ownership.

·       The LHNA had set out a recommended housing mix for both South West Herts and Three Rivers, in terms of different sizes and types of homes.  However, it was cautioned that these figures were not prescriptive, that demand could change over time, and other factors may influence the mix.

·       Hertfordshire County Council’s Strategy was to more strongly develop the provision  ...  view the full minutes text for item LPSC54/25