Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Planning. 

The committee considered the report of the head of planning setting out the derivation of the Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) numbers for South Oxfordshire District. The chairman explained that this was the first of several opportunities for councillors to discuss the SHMA findings and consequential changes to the Local Plan in open session.

Mrs A Robinson, Strategic Director, Mr A Duffield, Head of Planning,

Mr P Moule, Senior Planning Policy Officer, and Mrs A Ducker, Leader of the Council introduced the report and answered questions from the committee as summarised below.

1.   All Oxfordshire local authorities were involved in the process through the Oxfordshire Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Partnership and jointly appointed GL Hearn to carry out the work. There were few firms which carry out this work. The council did not have access to the computer models used to develop the housing and economic figures, but had challenged the figures and the methodology used to generate these.

2.   The core strategy is based on a 2006/7 evidence of housing requirements, taken from the South East Plan, which was the most up to date evidence at the time of the core strategy examination.  The planning inspectorate now consider  housing evidence from the revoked Regional Spatial Strategies to be outdated for plan making purposes. The SHMA provides figures based on more recent data. It is important that the local plan is based on sound and up to date evidence, otherwise it could be deemed unsound. The council could adopt different figures from those in the SHMA provided it had sound evidence to justify these. Local plans are not static documents but are updated on a regular basis and the new housing figures in the SHMA form part of this ongoing process.

3.   The employment growth forecast was based on a survey of business’ ambitions for growth. It was higher than previously predicted but not unachievable. The selected consultant’s model was understood to provide less optimistic forecasts than other models, and had received good references from other clients. Employment growth in the district contributed towards the identified need for housing but this need was increased further as a result of the need for affordable housing in the district. 

4.   Officers were content that the council had an adequate five-year land supply across the district, although there is less than a 5 year supply at Didcot. Not having a five-year land supply would leave the district at risk of speculative development on areas not specified in the local plan.

5.   Calculations of overall and affordable housing mix were complex but had to be based on evidence of need which could be supplied both by social and market housing.

6.   The requirement that 40 per cent of major developments should be affordable housing is the starting point for negotiations. This could be altered depending on the overall requirements for contributions to infrastructure and the impact on the viability of the scheme, with a view to negotiating the best deal for the district  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31