Agenda item

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 of specialist housing, particularly for extra care (assisted living), as an alternative to providing care home bedspace (which was expected to reduce future needs for residential care accommodation).  The LHNA had set out that there was a need for approximately 2000-3700 dwellings for wheelchair users across South West Herts.

·       In terms of specific market segments, the LHNA advised that custom and self-build policies should be reflected in Local Plan policies (usually 2-5% of greenfield sites over 100 homes) and had identified an emerging market for Build to Rent across South West Herts.  The LHNA also advised further discussions with Herts County Council with regards to children’s home spaces and that planning applications should be dealt with positively, so as to address a current lack of provision.

The Planning Officer (Policy) provided an overview of the Employment and Economy topic paper, which provided a summary from the South West Herts Retail and Leisure Study and the South West Herts Economic Study. 

The South West Herts Retail and Leisure Study aimed to establish a retail catchment area, review the hierarchy of centres, assess the existing viability and vitality of town centres and district retail centres and produce a quantitative assessment of the future demand for retail floor space across the authority’s area.  However, the study was completed in 2018 and it was considered that the Council may undertake an updated study before publishing the draft Regulation 19 Local Plan. 

The South West Herts Economic Study was the main piece of evidence analysed within the topic paper.  This looked at the five local authority areas of Three Rivers, St Albans, Hertsmere, Dacorum and Watford and defined them as a Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA) due to (amongst other reasons) the districts sharing strong links in terms of migration, commuting and strategic transport infrastructure.

The South West Herts Economic Study had identified four priority sectors within the FEMA: film and TV; agritech; life sciences; and clean growth.  For Three Rivers specifically, the study explained that there was a need for the Local Plan to set out a policy which allowed flexibility and a quick response to applications for new set building and other ancillary needs in relation to film and tv industry, where there was generally a need for ancillary space quickly and for short periods of time.   

There was c124,000 sqm of vacant office space in the FEMA; in Three Rivers the availability rate had fallen since 2019-2023, and therefore office space should be protected as far as possible.  Overall, there was no new need for office development, although there may still be demand from smaller businesses in local areas.  However, it may still take some time following the pandemic to ascertain ‘the new normal’ for the office market. 

Availability rates for industrial space within the FEMA had been consistently below 8%, suggesting that there was an under-supply of industrial space.  When taking into account commitments, the shortfall in employment land within the FEMA for industrial storage and distribution combined was 9.5 hectares.  In Three Rivers specifically, there was a need for 11,400 sqm of industrial space and 13,100 sqm of storage and distribution space.  The total area provided from commitments and sites was 21,400 sqm and therefore the district fell short by a small amount of 3,100 sqm.  The study suggested that the need for industrial space for individual districts should not be the level that should be planned for, as neighbouring districts may be able to provide for Three Rivers’ needs.

Members of the sub-committee asked questions about the report and topic papers, which were responded to by officers.  In debate the following points were discussed:

·        A sub-committee member recommended that rather than 70% of affordable housing being focused on rented provision and 30% on intermediate/low cost home ownership, this split should be adjusted to 60% affordable rent / 40% First Homes due to the difficulties encountered by young people in finding housing which enabled them to remain in their local area.  It was noted that discussion on this point should take place when the affordable housing policy came before the sub-committee later in the year.

·        A sub-committee member questioned the methodology which had been used for the LHNA and commented that it was based on census information dating from March 2021 which had been collated during Covid.  It was argued that the data had been affected by the particular economic and social circumstances which were prevalent during the pandemic.  The member also commented that the particular demand arising from people looking to locate to the District from London, and the District’s wider economic integration with London, meant that a singular economic needs and housing needs assessment for the South West Herts area was problematic.  It was questioned whether another approach had been considered.  Officers responded by outlining the difficulties associated with defining any alternative housing market area which took account of proximity to London, and noted that the methodology had been successful at examination for Watford, with the Examiner having been satisfied that South West Herts was a single strategic housing market area and a functional economic market area.  Officers were therefore confident that with St Albans and Dacorum adopting the same approach, and alongside the Duty to Co-operate, this methodology would be viewed as sound at examination.

·        A committee member argued that, given the likelihood of planning appeals with a lack of 5-year land supply, it was important not to publish data which indicated a high housing need.  Instead, the emphasis should be on ensuring that the evidence published supported the need for a lower housing figure.  In response it was noted that the housing need figures had been determined by independent consultants using the standard methodology and that there was therefore no scope for it to be changed; however, it was by nature a notional figure and did not represent either a target, or policy.  It would be open to the Council to provide evidence as to why it could not be met on the basis of constraints.  The sub-committee noted that there was some confusion around the term ‘local housing need’ where this referred to the housing need assessed under the standard method, as nationally defined.

·        A sub-committee member queried the projections contained in the Employment and Economy topic paper, and whether the South-West Herts approach matched the situation in Three Rivers.  For example, in relation to storage and distribution the report outlined that there was almost no need for additional new space within the district, whereas there were proposals to continue to increase storage and distribution in Maple Cross and proposals from developers for the conversion of office space.  Officers responded that whilst there was a need to break down the expected demand at the district level so that it could be planned for, the location of storage and distribution within the FEMA was less important, and therefore there was flexibility around how the need would be met.

On being put to the vote, the sub-committee agreed to note the South West Hertfordshire Local Housing Needs Assessment Update and publish it to the Local Plan Evidence Base, the voting being 7 in favour, 4 against, 0 absentions.

On being put to the vote, the sub-committee agreed to note the South West Hertfordshire Economic Study Update and publish it to the Local Plan Evidence Base.

RESOLVED:

That the Local  Plan Sub-Committee notes the contents of the report and agree 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).