Question:
To determine the minimum number of homes needed, the National Planning Policy Framework implies that strategic policies should be informed by a local housing need assessment, conducted using the standard method.
The evolving Strategic Environmental Assessment must also take account of the infrastructure changes as a whole, which should be deliverable within the next local plan period.
Will that assessment deliver fully the infrastructure requirements for the whole development of 4500 Houses at Hall Farm in the draft Local Plan Update.
Minutes:
Question:
To determine the minimum number of homes needed, the NPPF implies that strategic policies should be informed by a local housing need assessment, conducted using the standard method.
The evolving Strategic Environmental Assessment must also take account of the infrastructure changes as a whole, which should be deliverable within the next local plan period.
Will that assessment deliver fully the infrastructure requirements for the whole development of 4500 Houses at Hall Farm in the draft LPU update.
Answer:
This is a slightly muddled question.
It is the role of a Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment to help understand the effects of an emerging local plan rather than set infrastructure requirements. As you will be aware, a SA (incorporating SEA) has been prepared and published for all stages of the emerging Local Plan Update to date.
Turning to infrastructure, Infrastructure Delivery Plans have also been produced and published alongside the emerging local plan. These documents set out the infrastructure required to help mitigate the impacts of development.
No decisions have been made regarding the future development strategy for the Borough. The work programme for the local plan was agreed by the Executive in July 2023.
For any site that is included in the Local Plan Update, there will be policies and requirements in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan that are clear in the infrastructure required to be delivered or contributed to as part future development proposals. A combination of CIL and/or S106 are used to deliver that infrastructure with delivery phased through the period of construction. Any development of scale will expect to deliver a full suite of infrastructure to serve incoming and existing local residents and businesses. If allocated, Hall Farm would be no different.
Supplementary Question:
The Lib Dems I believe learnt the lesson of over 20 years ago when they supported more housing in the Berkshire Structure Plan, and they were virtually wiped out then, and they only got back in thanks to support of two independents, one of whom they treated quite disgracefully I think, so I would suggest to Labour watch out. I feel sorry for them 20 years ago and I considered offering them the old red telephone box in Arborfield for Group meetings.
In the Wokingham Paper today the Lib Dem Leader said that the Government sets the Council’s housing targets, and he added that the Government tells councils how many new houses they must plan with planning permission for a 15 year local period, and I will emphasise that, a 15 year plan period. A 15 year plan period, not a 30 year plan period which the Lib Dems are supporting but they do not seem to have the guts to come clean and admit it.
Having misled the residents twice on housing numbers, do they think that doing it a third time, they can get away with it?
Supplementary Answer:
We have an annual housing number allocated to this area, as is everywhere around the country. The figure at the moment is 795 homes per annum. It is not a figure that we are keen on, but it is the figure that is allocated to the Council area, and it is the same whether it is Reading or West Berkshire or wherever. So, we are dependent on delivering a local plan that meets those numbers.
We are currently in the situation that the Government is in the process of redoing the planning documentation, in particular the NPPF. In the draft NPPF which was consulted on over Christmas through to March there was a draft proposal which included the allowance of including overprovision of homes in one local plan to be taken into account in the next local plan, and that is the situation that we in Wokingham Borough are currently in. We have lost our five year land supply because too many houses were built, particularly between the period of 2015 to 2022. Therefore, we have lost our five year land supply for that reason – we have overprovided. If the Government does come up with the proposal in their final NPPF to take account of over provision, our new local plan would not need to take account of a best part of 2,000 houses or dwellings. The current figure, the exact figure of over provision was 1727.