Issue - meetings

To consider a report which seeks approval for the publication of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.

The Cabinet Member considered a report which sought approval for the publication of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.

The primary role of the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment was to:

1.      Identify sites with potential for housing;

2.      Assess their housing potential; and

3.      Assess when they are likely to be developed.

The study included sites that had been put forward by landowners and developers, with a capacity for 10 or more dwellings. The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment had been undertaken to:

?       provide a consistent assessment of potential sites that had been submitted by land owners and developers;

?       consider factors affecting the developability of the site (e.g. flood risk, access);

?       assess the sustainability of the site in terms of accessibility to services; and

?       consider the deliverability of the site in terms of the need for / timescales for delivering infrastructure required (e.g. highway schemes).

The Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment provided background evidence on the potential availability of land in Cheshire East for housing.

A housing requirement of 1,150 net additional new dwellings a year had been agreed by the Council. There were currently insufficient ‘deliverable’ sites to meet the five year supply requirement, consequently the Council was introducing the Interim Planning Policy on the Release of Housing Lane, to identify broad locations for future housing growth, pending the preparation of the Local Development Framework which would allocate areas and sites for future development.. This guidance, which was subject to consultation, had identified two broad locations for housing growth within the Borough. These locations would provide an additional 1,350 dwellings to the 5 year supply and consequently the 5 year supply total was increased to 6,097. This equated to 5.3 years’ supply.

This document would be reviewed and updated annually.

This assessment was required by national planning policy, set out in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3).

RESOLVED

That

(1)   the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment be published; and

(2)   the document be used as part of the evidence base for the Cheshire East Local Development Framework.