Lewes District and Eastbourne Borough Councils' logo

Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda item

Update on Housing Delivery.

Report of Director of Regeneration and Planning.

Minutes:

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 second quarter 2016/2017 (30 September 2016), a total of 2,451 units had been delivered.  This left 2,571 units to be delivered until the end of the plan period, at an annual average of 245 units per year.

In the second quarter of 2016/17, a total of 38 new dwellings were completed. Of those 38 completed units, 27 units were at the Meadows View development on Kings Drive. The remaining 11 new dwellings were provided across five other development sites.  Housing completions over the quarter had been low, with a total of 78 units for the first half of 2016/17.

Since the adoption of the Core Strategy 2013/14 and the target of 240 units per year, a trend of under-delivery had been identified over the last two years. The delivery target was only exceeded three times in 14 quarters, with the average annual target only exceeded once.

At the end of quarter two of 2016/17, there were 689 net additional dwellings with permission that had yet to commence across 93 sites 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

At the end of the second quarter of 2016/17, there were 160 units under construction across 35 development sites and included:

·         30 remaining units at Meadows View, Kings Drive

·         16 units at 27 St Leonards Road

·         9 units at Koala on King Edwards Parade

The committee was advised that the annual requirement over the remaining plan period was 245 units per year, and therefore the five year requirement was 1,225 units.  The additional 5% buffer equated to an additional 61 units, making the Five Year Housing Land Supply requirement for Eastbourne 1,286 units.

The current assessment of the Five Year Housing Land Supply identified that as of 30 September 2016, Eastbourne had a supply of housing land equivalent to 849 units. This meant that Eastbourne currently had a 3.47 year supply of housing land (or 66% of the Five Year Housing Land Supply requirement).

Members were advised that as a Five Year Housing Land Supply could not be demonstrated, current polices could not be relied on to justify reasons for refusal.  This would therefore mean there was a significant risk that future planning refusals for residential developments would be overturned at appeal.

As the under delivery of housing continued, and with the low rate of sites being granted permission, it would mean it would be very difficult for a Five Year Housing Land Supply to be identified in the near future.

All sites built were removed from the Five Year Housing Land Supply and additional sites needed to granted permission to replace them.  Evidence suggested that only 78% of units granted were eventually built.

Housing delivery could be boosted through the identification of new sites with housing potential, which may in turn encourage landowners to submit applications, and address wider issues that may have prevented sites coming forward.  The process for identifying sites was underway through the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment due to be completed in April 2017.

 RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

 

 

Supporting documents: