Draft Black Country Plan

Comment

Representation ID: 46173

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

The identification of sites proposed for development should have regard to the vision and objectives of a plan, in this instance the strategic priorities and objectives of the draft Black Country Plan, taking account of national policy and guidance and other material considerations and the need to minimise the impact of climate change whilst adapting to its effects and mitigating is current and potential future impacts.

Comment

Representation ID: 46174

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Strategic Priority 3 (within the objective Housing that meets all our needs) is to provide a range and choice of accommodation, house types and tenures to meet the needs of current and future residents.
Strategic Priority 3 should be explicit that meeting the needs of current and future residents requires a strategic policy-making authority to establish a housing requirement figure or its whole area, which shows the extent to which their identified housing need (and any needs that cannot be met within neighbouring areas) can be met over the plan period.

It is important for Strategic Priority 3 to be set within the context of the requirement upon a strategic plan making authority to identify sufficient land for homes.

Strategic Priority 3 should commit to meeting this obligation of identifying sufficient land for homes.

Support

Representation ID: 46175

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Strategic Priority 4, to improve and diversify the Black Country housing offer, is supported.

Comment

Representation ID: 46176

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

It is possible that continued discussions with neighbouring authorities will result in agreement over increased housing provision outside of the Black Country Plan area. It is also possible that a future review of the standard methodology will reduce the burden of responsibility on the BCA. However, it seems unlikely that there will be any shift in either requirement or provision of a sufficient magnitude such that the shortfall of 19,000 homes is eliminated. This indicates very strongly that the BCA will have to look to other solutions within the plan area.

Local policy needs to go further and the development strategy in Policy CSP 1 should acknowledge that higher density development is likely to be a pre-requisite to delivery of sufficient housing to meeting local needs over the plan period.

Comment

Representation ID: 46177

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Subsection (3c) of policy CSP2 states that the Strategic Centres have the potential to provide 9,561 new homes of mixed type and tenure; the majority built at high densities as part of mixed-use developments. The Subsection (3c) reference to density should repeated in subsection (4d) such that intention is extended to also reference potential for high density residential development in the Core Regeneration Areas. The BCA currently have a 25% housing shortfall against requirements, even when proposed green belt release sites and provision by neighbouring authorities out of area are factored-in. It is highly likely that a component of any solution to addressing the current housing shortfall will be higher density residential development in the defined Core Regeneration Areas in addition to in the defined Strategic Centres.

Comment

Representation ID: 46178

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

The policy should be clear about design expectations and how proposals will be tested against policy, having regard to national guidance and other material considerations. The BCA should prepare design guides and/or design codes consistent with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code, and which reflect local character and design preferences. If these are to follow as supplementary planning documents, then the draft development plan policy should be explicit in this regard.

The Policy should provide clarity over how the BCA intend to proportionately apply any assessment frameworks, such as Building for a Healthy Life (Footnote 6), in the context of high-quality design and placemaking being central to the ambitions of the LEP and the WMCA.

Whilst justified for the largest-scale, strategic development sites, in the context of the guidance provided by the Framework and the PPG, such processes can introduce unjustified additional costs and unnecessary delay in the decision making process for smaller scale developments. It is important when setting out broad policies relating to high quality design (of both places and buildings) that thresholds are introduced such that it is clear and unambiguous which developments are to be subject to which requirements. Paragraph 16 of the Framework is clear that development plans should contain policies that are clearly written and unambiguous, so it is evident how a decision maker should react to development proposals.

Comment

Representation ID: 46179

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Draft policy DEL2 is concerned with ‘windfall sites’ for housing or employment development. It is drafted as a criteria based policy with (1d) stating that ‘Proposals for new development must take account of existing adjacent activities where the proposed development could have an adverse effect on or be affected by neighbouring uses. Mitigation of the impact of noise and other potential nuisances will need to be demonstrated’. This criterion should also reference taking account of proposed adjacent activities (in addition to existing), where the proposed development could have an adverse effect on or be affected by development coming forward in accordance with Black Country Plan allocations.

Comment

Representation ID: 46180

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Policy HOU1 states that the Black Country Authorities (BCA) will deliver at least 47,837 net new homes over the period 2020 to 2039. This represents a significant shortfall on the number of homes calculated as being required over this period using the Government standard methodology. The Government published on 16 December 2020 indicative annual housing need by local authority area, using a revised calculation methodology. The stated annual requirement for the Black Country is 4,019 comprising: Dudley (636); Sandwell (1,488); Walsall (882); and Wolverhampton (1,013). This suggests the total number of houses required is 76,361 (over 19 years). It is not clear how the quoted requirement of 76,076 houses (paragraph 6.4) is arrived at, and this should be set out explicitly in policy HOU1.

Comment

Representation ID: 46181

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

Table 4 which follows the policy text of HOU1 sets out the minimum housing target over the period 2020-39 for each of the four Black Country authorities and for each of the Black Country Plan phases (2020-29, 2029-34 and 2034-39). Total net homes to be delivered in Sandwell is stated as 9,158 or 482 dwellings per annum. There is a significant discrepancy between the standard methodology assessed requirement for Sandwell of 1,488 houses per annum and the expected net delivery of 482 dwellings per annum. The draft Black Country Plans needs to be explicit over the land supply reasons for this (i.e. is it site availability only, and/or other reasons), the justification for a redistribution of housing requirements and the potential for some of the discrepancy to be recovered through higher density development; particularly within the defined Core Regeneration Areas.

47,837 net new homes are considered are deliverable across the four administrative areas during the plan period. This leaves a shortfall of 28,238, based upon an assessed housing requirement of 76,076 units, without any complete picture on how this shortfall might be addressed. It is acknowledged that under the ‘Duty to Cooperate’, the BCA are working with neighbouring authorities to determine what level of additional housing could be delivered outside of the Black Country Plan area to help address the shortfall. An estimate of up to 9,500 houses still leaves a shortfall of over nearly 19,000 homes.

It is possible that continued discussions with neighbouring authorities will result in agreement over increased housing provision outside of the Black Country Plan area; the current 9,500 units upper threshold might also not be realised. It is possible that a future review of the standard methodology will reduce the burden of responsibility on the BCA. However, it seems unlikely that there will be any shift in either requirement or provision of any materiality such that the shortfall of 19,000 homes is eliminated.

This indicates very strongly that the BCA will have to look to other solutions within the plan area. It is highly likely that a component of any solution will be higher density residential development.

Comment

Representation ID: 46182

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Vulcan Property II Limited

Agent: Maddox Planning

The phased housing targets in Table 4 indicate an intended consistent rate of delivery across the 19 years covered by the Black Country Plan; meaning approximately 47% of net new homes being delivered in the period 2020-2029. Discussions are ongoing with neighbouring authorities under the ‘Duty to Cooperate’ regarding the ability of those administrative areas to contribute to meeting the BCA housing requirement. Neighbouring local authorities including Cannock Chase, Lichfield and South Staffordshire are currently reviewing development plan documents, to determine how much land they need to provide to meet their own housing and employment needs as well as potentially helping to meet the BCA needs.

There is good reason to expect that delivery out of area will be skewed to the latter stages of the Black Country Plan period, given that those neighbouring authorities will justifiably prioritise meeting their own housing requirements. This suggests that there is good reason to front-load the proportion of new homes delivered within the Black Country Plan area, where there is evidence that sites are available and deliverable.