Cheshire East Council has published a document detailing its five-year supply of housing land, including a 5% buffer to allow for choice and competition.
Cheshire East Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones said it signals the Council's determination to continue its fight to fend off unplanned, unsustainable and unwanted development in the Borough and protect the best of our countryside.
The Five Year Housing Supply Position Statement takes account the latest information and available data – and includes evidence on housing completions and planning permissions up to December 31st 2013.
The assessment recognises the results of appeal decisions in the autumn, which concluded that the Council could not demonstrate a five-year supply of housing at that point and takes on board many of the comments made by the Planning Inspectors. It also follows consultation with the Housing Market Partnership, in December, on methodology and sources of supply.
Cheshire East Council Leader Michael Jones said: "The latest assessment published today shows that Cheshire East responded robustly to the Government's call to meet the need for more housing.
"It shows that we have granted numerous planning permissions and there are many more sites now under construction. This demonstrates that land is being made available to provide the housing that the Borough will need in future, while protecting the countryside and green belt.
"There are many variables in the calculation of housing land supply but we have been careful to take on board many of the outcomes of the recent planning appeals.
"We have included a five per cent buffer for choice and competition because, historically, Cheshire East has always been a healthy housing market area.
"We actually have just over a 20 per cent buffer on housing supply. However, we do not believe that a larger 20 per cent buffer is appropriate because past delivery was artificially weakened by the regionally-imposed moratoriums imposed on Congleton and Macclesfield boroughs, which prevented us from delivering more homes over the last decade. Cheshire East should not be penalised for that – as it was beyond its control.
"We hope that the current rash of speculative planning applications for housing will now start to ebb away and that the development industry will work constructively with us to secure the effective implementation of new Local Plan.
"It will also help save taxpayers money from the legal costs of fighting planning appeals, because we will have demonstrated a five-year housing supply as a crucial barrier to unplanned, unwanted and unsustainable developments."
Cheshire East has assessed sites that are within the planning process including sites that have been allocated; sites that are under construction; and sites that have permission or have permission subject to Section 106 agreements.
The five-year housing requirement is 8,311 homes (inclusive of a 5% buffer) and the identified supply is 9,757 homes – equivalent to 5.87 years. The housing requirement is based on the figures in the former North West Regional Spatial Strategy.
Amongst the local sites identified within this latest assessment are Oakdean Court, Peacock Farm on Wilmslow Road Handforth, 2-4 Holly Road, Handforth Hall and Bedells Lane, as well as a number of smaller sites.
Click here to view Five Year Housing Supply Position Statement, which will go before a meeting of the Council's Strategic Planning Board on Wednesday 5th February for endorsement.
The report for that meeting states "It should be stressed that a Position Statement is only a snapshot in time and will therefore require periodic updating if it is to provide a robust defence against planning refusals, regardless of whether such decisions are appealed against by prospective developers.
"Whilst there is a clear need to update the SHLAA with a base date of 31st March, 2014 to inform the emerging Local Plan Strategy and to prepare an Annual Monitoring Report for 2014, the Position Statement should be subject to periodic review. This should ensure that the current housing land supply position is both monitored and evidenced in the Council's decision-making processes."
Photo: Cheshire East Council Leader Councillor Michael Jones.
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