Agenda item

Report of Director of Planning and Regeneration.

The committee considered the report of the Director of Regeneration and Planning providing Members with an update on housing delivery and the current position in relation to the Five Year Housing Land Supply.

Members noted that the Core Strategy planned for the delivery of 5,022 net additional dwellings between 2006 and 2027. As of the end of the 2015/2016 financial year (31 March 2016), a total of 2,373 units had been delivered since the start of the plan period. This left 2,649 units to deliver until the end of the plan period at an annual average of 240.8 units per year.

In the first quarter of 2016/17, a total of 40 new dwellings were completed. Of these 40 completed units, 30 units were at the Meadows View development on Kings Drive. There were four other development sites that had completed units in the first quarter of the year.

The 40 completed units in the first quarter was just below the average number of units completed per quarter over the last five years, which was 49.8 units per quarter. However, delivery in the Q1 2016/17 had been across significantly fewer sites than usual. A list of sites with completed units was provided at Appendix 1 to the report.

Members noted that housing delivery over the last five years had been relatively low against the housing targets. Over this period, the annual target was met only once, with an average annual delivery of 199.2 units.

A total of 107 units were granted permission during the first quarter of 2016/17. The number of units committed in the first quarter was higher than average, although this was mainly due to the prior approval for St Anne’s House for the conversion from offices to 35 residential units under Permitted Development rights. The completion of the Section 106 agreement for the Heatherleigh Hotel allowed the permission to be confirmed within the first quarter, committing an additional 16 units.  The 107 newly committed units were spread across 24 sites and a list of newly committed sites was provided at Appendix 2 of the report.

As at the end of the first quarter of 2016/17, there were 648 net additional dwellings with permission that had yet to commence across 79 sites. A list of sites with permission for housing development but had yet to start,  was provided at Appendix 3 to the report and included:

·         142 units at Sovereign Harbour

·         102 units at Bedfordwell Road Depot

·         61 units at the former Caffyns site on Upperton Road

·         36 units at 2-4 Moy Avenue

·         35 units at St Anne’s House, St Anne’s Road

As at the end of the first quarter of 2016/17, there were 201 units under construction across 38 development sites. A list of sites that were currently under construction was provided at Appendix 4 to the report and included:

·         57 remaining units at Kings Drive

·         16 units at 27 St Leonards Road

·         11 units at Twin English Centre, 25 St Anne’s Road

·         9 units at Koala on King Edwards Parade

The committee was advised that the annual requirement over the remaining plan period was 243 units per year, and therefore the five year requirement was 1,213 units. The additional 5% buffer equated to an additional 61 units, making the Five Year Housing Land Supply requirement for Eastbourne 1,274 units. Eastbourne Borough Council was required to identify sufficient land to meet this requirement.

The current assessment of the Five Year Housing Land Supply identified that as of 30 June 2016, Eastbourne had a supply of housing land equivalent to 912 units. This meant that Eastbourne currently had a 3.76 year supply of housing land (or 75% of the Five Year Housing Land Supply requirement).

Therefore the Council were 362 units short of having a Five Year Housing Land Supply (including 5% buffer). Currently the Council did not have a five year housing land supply and therefore were at risk of future planning refusals for residential development being overturned at appeal.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.