Date: 25 June 2002 Item 3 Report by: The Hampshire County Planning Officer, Portsmouth City Planning Officer and Southampton Executive Director of Development and Sustainability Written by: Stuart Roberts, tel: 01962 846782 Purpose and Summary: Policy H4 of the Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 provides a reserve provision of land for housebuilding which may be released for development if monitoring shows that this is necessary. A Monitoring Paper which assesses the need for such release was published in April 2002 for consultation. The Monitoring Paper concludes that there is no case this year for triggering the release of any of the reserve provision, but that the situation needs to be considered again when better information is available in the next edition. In the meantime, various actions are needed by the Hampshire local planning authorities to ensure an adequate supply of housing land is provided. RECOMMENDATIONS: 1) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council that no release of reserve provision is justified this year, but the possible need remains to release some provision in future years. 2) That the Hampshire district councils: (i) progress the preparation of their local plans as quickly as possible; (ii) incorporate Major Development Areas in local plans as required by Policies MDA2-5 of the Structure Plan; and (iii) identify sufficient reserve housing sites in local plans to meet all of the reserve provision set out in Policy H4 of the Structure Plan.
3) That work begin on the preparation of the next Monitoring Paper, including verification by the strategic planning authorities of the urban capacity studies undertaken by the local planning authorities. 1. The Plan 1.1 The policies of the adopted Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) provide a `baseline provision' for new homes and a `reserve provision' which will be released if and when the strategic and local planning authorities decide it is needed. 1.2 Policy H4 identifies the broad locations of the reserve provision and describes, in general terms, how decisions will be made on releasing the reserve provision. That includes assessing whether the reserve provision should be released in the light of revised Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) and whether, in the light of monitoring, there is a compelling justification to release greenfield reserve sites. 2. Monitor and Manage 2.1 The way in which Policy H4 will be implemented in detail was set out in Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) `Implementing Policy H4' published by the three strategic planning authorities in June 2001. The process described comprises essentially of three stages: (i) preparation and publication of a Monitoring Paper which assesses the adequacy of existing land supply; (ii) consultation on that Paper; and (iii) consideration of the Paper and the comments received by this Panel which will then make a recommendation to the strategic planning authorities on whether any of the reserve provision should be released. That sequence of publication, consultation and decision will be repeated annually.
2.2 The Monitoring Paper is attached as Appendix 1. It compares the current projection of future housing land supply with the requirements of the Hampshire County Structure Plan and the RPG for the South East. It concludes there is no case this year for triggering the release of any of the housing provision. 2.3 The Paper's conclusion rests, however, on an assessment of future housing land supply which includes a large component of as yet unidentified sites. It also assumes that all four baseline Major Development Areas (MDAs) will begin to provide dwellings from 2006 and that the baseline element of each will be fully completed by 2011. Both these elements of future housing land supply will need to be considered further in the next edition of the monitoring paper when better information will be available. 3. Comments Received from Consultees 3.1 The Monitoring Paper was published in April 2002. A copy was sent to the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), the House Builders' Federation and other organisations for comment. 3.2 Responses to the document have been received from 31 organisations. The respondents are: East Hampshire District Council, Fareham Borough Council, New Forest District Council, Oakley and Deane Parish Council, Hythe and Dibden Parish Council, GOSE, the South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA), English Nature, six environmental/amenity groups, the House Builders Federation and various development interests. Many of the respondents welcome the publication of the monitoring paper and a smaller number express support for its conclusions. The House Builders Federation and development interests generally believe that the paper is over-optimistic about current housing land supply. In particular, they question whether all the potential for new housing emerging from urban capacity studies will be translated into actual sites for development and they question the paper's assumption that construction of all four baseline Major Development Areas (MDAs) will begin in 2006 and be completed by 2011. Many go on to call for a release now of some of the reserve housing provision. 3.3 SEERA applauds the Paper as helpful, lucid and an example of the monitoring work it wishes to encourage across the Region. Whilst understanding the caution this year over the release of reserve provision, the Assembly recognises that delays do occur in translating capacity figures into planning permissions and land releases. For this reason the release of reserve sites may need to be seriously considered next time. 3.4 GOSE comments that, as total supply appears to exceed requirements, the release of sites will need to be carefully managed to ensure that previously developed land is used before greenfield sites. It encourages the strategic planning authorities to offer advice to district councils on that management of land supply. GOSE also points out that Dowds Farm is a greenfield site, although the Paper includes it in the urban capacity figures. 3.5 A summary of the main points made by the respondents is set out in Appendix 2. 4. Officer's Response to the Comments 4.1 A few respondents are critical of the Policy H4 and the concept of reserve provision. This, however, is an integral part of the Structure Plan and is necessary meet the Government's requirements as set out in RPG. Others are critical of the approach being followed by the strategic planning authorities in implementing the policy; this, however, is enshrined in the SPG `Implementing Policy H4' which was adopted by the strategic planning authorities last year after consultation, including with all those who commented on the Monitoring Paper. 4.2 The concerns expressed about the figures for land supply are acknowledged in the concluding section of the Monitoring Paper, which recognises the uncertainties at the present time. It states clearly that, although no release is justified this year, the possibility remains of a release being required in future. In that regard, the Paper has served primarily to establish the process, identify the key issues and highlight where data needs to be refined so that the next Paper can be more robustly based. 4.3 The Paper was published later than planned, due to delays in data collection and analysis and the time needed to shape the inaugural document; the next will be published earlier. In the meantime, the concerns raised by development interests will be addressed by the publication of additional first and second deposit draft local plans (which will introduce more certainty into MDAs and other housing sites) and by the strategic planning authorities' inspection of the completed urban capacity studies. 4.4 The encouraging remarks by SEERA, and GOSE's endorsement of an active role by the strategic planning authorities in the management of housing land supply, are welcome. 4.5 The inclusion of Dowds Farm within the table showing urban capacity was an error; the site should have been included in the table of those with planning permission/proposed allocations. This and other technical errors will be corrected in the next Paper, which will also take account of the Hart Urban Capacity Study which was completed during consultation on the Monitoring Paper. 4.6 A more specific response to each of the comments made is in Appendix 2. 5. Next Steps 5.1 If this Panel endorses the conclusion of the Paper, that there is no justification this year for triggering the release of any of the reserve provision, the three strategic planning authorities will be asked to endorse the conclusion. The local planning authorities will then be informed of that decision. 5.2 Rather than produce a revised version of the Paper, effort will instead be devoted to refining the information on land supply, including the aspects covered in paragraphs 4.2 and 4.5 above, for the next document. In that regard, the Monitoring Paper, which was produced purely to enable consultation, has served its purpose. It should be considered now as having been superseded by this report and the Panel's conclusions, and thus having no formal status. 5.3 In addition to the refinement of information, it is essential that the local planning authorities take the necessary action to ensure that the future potential housing land supply quantified in the paper is actually made available for development. This includes expediting the preparation of local plans and the identification of the four baseline MDAs, so as to enable land assembly, masterplanning, utility provision and resolution of site constraints to take place. These are pre-requisites for the delivery of completed dwellings within the time period of the current Structure Plan. The inability or reluctance of a local planning authority to prepare its local plan and, where applicable, identify the location for its baseline MDA, will lead to pressure for a compensatory release of reserve provision in other districts. 5.4 The majority of comments received doubted whether the land supply picture is as rosy as painted by the Monitoring Paper. This will be confirmed or otherwise in the next, more robust edition. However, it means that the possibility remains of releasing some of the reserve provision in a future year. District councils must, as required by Policy H4 and underscored in the SPG 'Implementing Policy H4', identify all their reserve sites, so that if release of some reserve provision is justified in a future year, this can be done in a location appropriate to meet the shortfall in housing land supply. | 
