Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006 (as amended August 2009)

Replacement Calderdale UDP : Adopted 25 August 2006

• Foreword
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Calderdale in Context
• Strategic and Core Part One Policies
• 3 Guiding Principles and Key Themes
• 4 Employment, The Economy, Tourism and Regeneration
• 5 Housing
  • Introduction
  • Strategy for Housing
  • Existing Housing Areas
  • Additional Housing
    • Amount of New Housing Provision
    • The Managed Release of Housing Sites (Phasing)
  • Non-Allocated Sites
  • Density and Type of Dwellings
  • Living Over Shops and Other Business Premises
  • Affordable Housing
  • Accessible Housing
  • Houses in Multiple Occupation
  • Gypsies
• 6 Retailing and Town Centres
• 7 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Facilities
• 8 The Built and Historic Environment
• 9 Transport
• 10 Infrastructure, Education and Community Facilities
• 11 Natural Environment and the Countryside
• 12 Environmental Protection
• 13 Minerals
• 14 Waste Management
• 15 Monitoring and Review of the Plan
• Annex A Privacy, Daylighting and Amenity Space
• Annex B Trees On or Adjacent to Development Sites
• Appendix 1 National Planning Policy
• Appendix 2 National Minerals Policy
• Appendix 3 Supporting Published Documents
• Appendix 4 Glossary of Terms
• Appendix 5 Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Appendix 6 Policy Topic Index
• Appendix 7 Policy Number Comparison
• Appendix 8 Supplementary Maps

Additional Housing

Amount of New Housing Provision

5.8 The previous UDP adopted in 1997, made provision for approximately 10,100 new dwellings to be created between 1986 and 2001. During this period some 7,550 dwellings were built. At the end of the Plan period (31/3/01) planning permission existed for some 3,000 dwellings whilst a number of the Plan’s housing allocations remained. All of the new housing allocations in the Plan were located within the existing urban areas, avoiding the need to release land from the Green Belt and included a mixture of sites, some of which had been previously developed and others which had not.

5.9 Since the previous UDP was adopted the Government has replaced the 'Predict and Provide' approach with that of 'Plan, Monitor and Manage'. This recognises that the Government’s household projections represent the projected outcome of complex economic and social processes.They therefore carry a degree of uncertainty requiring the level of housing provision planned for to be more closely monitored and the Plan amended accordingly. Future development must also be planned as part of a strategy to deliver both an urban and a rural renaissance. This new approach is set down in both PPG3 and RSS for Yorkshire and the Humber (2004).

5.10 Nationally the Government has predicted that 3.8 million further households will form by 2021. RSS anticipates that the annual average housing provision for Yorkshire and the Humber should be 14,765 between 1998 and 2016. This is to be treated as the benchmark against which actual provision is monitored.

5.11 PPG3 requires local authorities in preparing their development plans to have regard to Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) and to avoid re-opening consideration of the level of housing provision which has been considered in full within the RPG process. This advice is particularly relevant in Yorkshire and the Humber Region where the Secretary of State only approved the RPG12 in October 2001. These figures were subsequently incorporated unchanged into RSS for Yorkshire and the Humber (2004).

5.12 The actual distribution of the housing requirement amongst constituent local authorities is not based purely on demographic factors but reflects wider policy objectives. These include maximising the use of urban potential and the use of previously developed land, ensuring an appropriate relationship between the location of housing and employment and environmental considerations.

5.13 This approach means that Calderdale’s share of the regional housing requirement, as set down in the RSS, is 450 dwellings per annum or 8,100 additional dwellings between 1998 and 2016 (3% of the regional total).

5.14 The period of the UDP Review does not coincide exactly with the period for the housing requirement in RSS. Prior to the start of the plan period 1,698 dwellings were built between April 1998 and March 2001, in excess of the 450 per annum set down in RSS. In total requirement terms this would leave 6,402 dwellings to be provided for by 2016 to meet the housing requirement of 8,100. However, Policy H1 of RSS states that development plans should be expressed in a way that enables the annual average increase in the housing stock to be achieved as set down in RSS Policy H1. Therefore the Plan must make provision for 450 dwellings per annum over the Plan period or a total of 6,750 dwellings. This compares with an annual completion rate of some 500 dwellings over the period of the previous UDP adopted in 1997 and 770 dwellings per annum over the first 5 years of the Replacement Plan.

5.15 The level of housing supply available in Calderdale is currently far in excess of the housing requirement in RSS. This is largely due to the number of brownfield sites coming forward as windfall development, a situation likely to continue for the foreseeable future. At some point an oversupply will contribute towards the undermining of regional regeneration objectives. At 31st March 2006, (the end of Phase 1) there were 5970 dwellings either with planning permission or under construction, including the four Phase 1 allocations, whilst the overall supply for the plan period (excluding completions) was 8320 units. The remaining Phase 1 supply alone equates to 13.25 years supply based on RSS requirement of 450 dwellings per annum. Given this position there is clearly a need for the Plan to contain some form of regulatory mechanism to enable the Council to refuse planning permission for additional housing developments when there is a situation of oversupply.

5.16 In order to determine when it is necessary to instigate a measure of restraint a significant net oversupply needs to be defined. This is defined for the purposes of Policy GH2A(II) as when the forecast net increase in housing stock over the following five years exceeds RSS required annual average for that period (that is 450 x 5 = 2250).

5.17 The regulatory mechanism in Policy GH2A(II) will apply to the majority of housing development including greenfield sites, brownfield windfalls and allocated land in order that it is effective in controlling housing supply. However, there are other planning objectives to be achieved through the Plan which are dependent on housing development proceeding. In these circumstances the Policy will not generally apply. Such circumstances may include allocated sites where development would assist regeneration objectives, such as is the case with the majority of the mixed-use allocations. In order not to jeopardise the provision of affordable or social housing the policy will not apply to these types of development. Other categories to be excluded from the Policy may include those residential developments that contribute to the balanced social, economic and environmental wellbeing of a locality and replacement dwellings. The Council will produce a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to explain more fully how the Policy will work including further details of the types of residential development to be excluded from it.

5.18 In promoting more sustainable patterns of development the Government requires more efficient use of land by maximising the re-use of previously developed land and the conversion and re-use of existing buildings as outlined in PPG3. Such an approach will promote urban regeneration and minimise the amount of greenfield land being taken for development. The Government has, therefore, set a national target of 60% of additional housing to be provided on previously developed land and through the conversion of existing buildings by 2008. In turn, RSS contains a target of 60% for Yorkshire and the Humber with a sub-regional target for West Yorkshire of 63%. The target of 74% for Calderdale is the second highest in the region. The Council has monitored the amount of housing development on previously developed land since 1999. This shows that in the period April 1999 to March 2006, 75% of new homes were being created on previously developed land.

5.19 PPG3 requires local planning authorities to undertake Urban Capacity Studies (UCSs), which assess the potential of the urban areas to accommodate more housing having regard to whether the land is previously developed or not. RSS (2004), in setting targets for the re-use of previously developed land, requires UDPs to review these targets in the light of their UCSs. Clearly all UDPs should aim to meet their targets otherwise the objective of achieving the regional target will be undermined.

5.20 As the Government’s policy on brownfield land gains momentum a greater proportion of dwellings are expected to come from this source. The UCS only considered land within the urban areas but there are likely to be additional brownfield sites which come forward from outside the urban areas. Several mills, for example, which are unused or underused and where interest for conversion to residential use has been expressed, are located in the Green Belt beyond the urban areas. It is clear that in order to achieve the 74% target in RSS, any opportunities which arise in the form of developer interest in suitable sites must be pursued to help bring these sites forward. However, schemes for the development of brownfield sites/buildings outside the urban areas will be subject to other UDP policies and in particular POLICY GP 3 ‘DEVELOPMENT OUTSIDE URBAN AREAS’, Policy NE 1 ‘Development within the Green Belt’, Policy NE 4 ‘Conversion or Change of Use of Buildings in the Green Belt’ and Policy NE 8 ‘Appropriate Development for the Area Around Todmorden’. An analysis of the supply of housing land as set out in Tables 5.1 and 5.2 and Policies H5 and H7 demonstrates that some 85% of all new dwellings will be built on brownfield sites. The housing requirement is therefore as set out in the following Policy:-

The Managed Release of Housing Sites (Phasing)

5.21 An essential element of the Plan, Monitor and Manage approach is the managed release of land for housing. PPG3 requires the Council to manage the release of sites over the Plan period in order to control the pattern and speed of urban growth, to ensure that new infrastructure is co-ordinated with new housing development and to deliver the recycling target. Without such an approach, the sites which are easiest to develop would be developed first.

5.22 PPG3 advises that a phasing approach is the most suitable mechanism for managing the release of land as it gives more certainty in the determination of planning applications. In adopting a phasing policy the fundamental aim is to ensure that no more land is used for housing development than is necessary, and that, as far as possible, previously developed sites are developed for housing before greenfield sites. The Plan has therefore been divided into phases from the base date as recommended in the DTLR’s Best Practice Guide ‘Planning To Deliver’ (2001).

5.23 In identifying new land for housing to allocate in each phase the broad search sequence set down in PPG3 has been followed but interpreted in more detail as set down in RSS, Policy H2. The search sequence was therefore as follows:-

• previously developed land and buildings within the urban areas and identified in the urban capacity study subject to such sites providing decent accommodation and being in an acceptable setting;
• infill within the urban areas subject to appropriate levels of greenspace being retained and the character of the urban area being conserved and enhanced where possible;
• land on the periphery of the main urban areas and urban extensions where the land is accessible or capable of being made accessible to services and jobs by public transport and other non-car modes. Priority has been given to previously developed sites and conversions before greenfield sites. RSS defines Halifax as a major urban area and therefore appropriate to take a major share of Calderdale’s housing requirement;
• sites around nodes in good public transport corridors.

5.24 Having identified sites in accordance with the systematic search sequence in PPG3 and RSS an assessment of these sites was conducted using the criteria set down in PPG3 (paragraph 31). These criteria include an assessment of the relative sustainability credentials of the sites. The criteria are:-

• the availability of previously developed sites and empty or under-used buildings and their suitability for housing use;
• the location and accessibility of potential development sites to jobs, shops and services by modes other than the car and the potential for improving such accessibility;
• the capacity of existing and potential infrastructure, including public transport, water and sewerage, other utilities and social infrastructure to absorb further development and the cost of adding further infrastructure;
• the ability to build communities to support new physical and social infrastructure and to provide sufficient demand to sustain appropriate local services and facilities; and
• the physical and environmental constraints on development of land, including, for example, the level of contamination, stability and flood risk, taking into account that such risk may increase as a result of climate change.

5.25 The total housing supply for Phase 1 is shown in Table 5.1. This includes completions from the start of the plan period to 31 March 2006 and existing commitments in the form of planning permissions and sites under construction at 31 March 2006.

Table 5.1 Phase 1 Supply as at 31 March 2006

	Dwellings	% Dwellings on Previously Developed Land	% Dwellings on Greenfield Land	Notes
Completions 1/4/01 to 31/3/06	3857	79	21
Sites with planning permission & under construction 31/3/06	5970	92	8	New build and conversions including allocations with permission
Windfalls	0	0	0
Allocations	0	0	0	All the Phase 1 allocations have planning permission and are included in row 2
TOTAL SUPPLY	9827	87	13
Phase 1 Requirement	2250			Annual requirement of 450 x 5
Relationship to Phase 1 housing requirement	+7577

5.26 Allowances must be made for the contribution likely to come from brownfield windfalls since as the DTLR's Best Practice Guide 'Planning to Deliver' (2001) states these must be taken account of due to the effect they are likely to have on any phasing strategy. Windfall sites are previously developed sites that have not been specifically identified as available in the local plan process. Whilst they do make an important contribution to the housing supply they also complicate the managed release of sites. The figures for windfalls included in this plan are based on the assumptions made at the time the Plan was prepared. These have not been updated to the end of Phase 1 like the other figures relating to supply since they cannot by their nature be simply a matter of numerical fact but are based on assumptions which have been tested through the statutory plan process. The appropriate place to update these figures is the Annual Monitoring Report prepared by the Council. In assessing the likely contribution from windfalls the potential can be split into those windfalls involving new build development and those arising from conversions:-

New Build - In total windfalls came forward at a rate of 295pa over the seven year period 1996 to 2003, well above the rate allowed for in the previous UDP (1997). In the past there was no requirement to monitor the relative proportions of brownfield/greenfield sites and therefore no long-term information was available on the number of windfalls coming forward on previously developed sites at the time the Plan was prepared. By applying the proportion of windfalls on brownfield sites for the period for which this information was available, to the total number of windfalls for the seven year period 1996 to 2003, the likely contribution from windfalls was projected to be 205 dwellings per annum.

Conversions - Over the 17 year period 1986 to 2003, including the period of the previous UDP (1997), dwellings arising from conversions averaged 90 dwellings per annum. Whilst a number of large former textile mills have already been developed, there are many others which are either vacant or underused and in which interest for conversion to residential use has been expressed. PPG3 requires local authorities to take a positive approach towards the conversion of existing buildings. Past rates of conversion activity are therefore expected, at the very least, to continue.

5.27 Table 5.1 shows the housing supply updated to reflect the position at the end of Phase 1 of the Plan (31 March 2006). Not all of these commitments will be built in Phase 1 and will carry forward to Phase 2. The actual supply was well above that required in Phase 1, even without the inclusion of any new allocations, when the Plan was originally drafted. This remains the case at the end of Phase 1. However, in order to encourage previously developed sites to come forward and to maintain existing developer interest in certain sites, including some that have proved difficult to bring forward for development, several allocations were included. Some of these sites also have significant lead in times and therefore needed to be allocated early in the plan period. These sites will assist in the achievement of wider regeneration objectives and also ensure a supply of sites of sufficient size to accommodate a mix of house types, including affordable housing. All of the Phase 1 allocations have now gained planning permission and are under construction. The allocations are shown in Policy H 5 ‘Phase 1 Housing Allocations’:-

5.28 The phasing approach to the managed release of sites will be monitored in order to ensure the objectives of PPG3 are being met including meeting the District’s housing requirement. Should this monitoring demonstrate that there is a significant oversupply of housing land then POLICY GH 2 ‘PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL DWELLINGS’ will be applicable. If amendments are required to individual phases, sites will be re-assigned to different phases via a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which will be produced by the Council. Factors which may require such a revision would be the impact of windfall sites (either more or fewer coming forward than anticipated in the Plan), the development of housing on the mixed use sites included in Policy E 4 ‘Sites Allocated for Mixed-Use’ , Policy H 7 ‘Phase 2 Housing Allocations’ and Policy H 8 ‘Phase 3 Housing Allocations’ or other material considerations. Therefore:-

5.29 Phase 2 will be informed by this monitoring but the expected supply for Phase 2 is currently as shown in Table 5.2 ‘Phase 2 Supply as at 1 April 2006*’.

Table 5.2 Phase 2 Supply as at 1 April 2006*

	Dwellings	% Dwellings on Previously Developed Land	% Dwellings on Greenfield Land	Notes
Windfalls	1025	100	0	205 pa x 5
Conversions	450	100	0	90 pa x 5
Allocations	258	100	0
Mixed Use Sites	167	100	0	Former MU7 and MU10
Total Supply	1900	100	0
Phase 2 Theoretical Requirement	2250			Annual Requirement of 450 x 5
Relationship to phase 2 Requirement	-350

* Table not updated on adoption of the Plan

5.30 The allowance for windfalls will be verified through the monitoring process but there are currently no indications that the level of windfalls will decline. The capacity study found many sites too small to allocate but capable of accommodating housing. It also identified numerous employment premises that were either unused or only partially in use. Many such premises have come forward as windfalls and this trend is expected to continue, particularly following the Government’s changes to PPG3 in January 2005, regarding surplus employment sites being re-used for residential development. There are already more than enough buildings for conversion committed to exceed the allowance of 90 dwellings per annum. Included in the list of allocations are two of the mixed-use sites allocated in Policy E 4 ‘Sites Allocated for Mixed-Use’ in the Employment Section of the Plan. Part of former site MU7 (Mill Royd Works) having gained planning permission for housing is under construction and likely to be completed early in Phase 2 whilst MU10 (Furness Avenue) is likely to come forward in Phase 2. The allocations expected to be required in Phase 2 are shown in Policy H 7 ‘Phase 2 Housing Allocations’:-

  

5.31 When looking beyond the end of Phase 2 the position is much less clear and will only be established following monitoring and any necessary adjustments made to the phasing. Should all the sites included in Phases 1 and 2, together with expectations regarding windfalls, come forward, then the housing requirement set down in RSS will have been met and quite probably exceeded. However, the likelihood is that some of these sites will be ongoing beyond the end of Phase 2 and contribute to Phase 3 of the Plan (1 April 2011 to 31 March 2016). In order to ensure an adequate supply of land for housing several sites are allocated in Phase 3. This will ensure that sites have been properly identified regarding locational and sustainability requirements in accordance with the plan led approach. This approach also has the advantage that in the event of future reviews of RSS (2004) resulting in a revised housing requirement, these sites could come forward without any delay in the process ensuring a continuous supply of land to meet housing requirements. Included in Phase 3 are several sites in the Upper Valley area. Whilst RSS (2004) seeks to concentrate most new housing development in the main towns and cities, small scale housing growth is acceptable under this strategy provided it would support sustainable development objectives, and is located where there is a good range of services and is accessible by a range of transport modes. RSS (2004) Policy H2, in setting out the sequential approach for new housing development, makes reference to market towns. In Calderdale, Todmorden is taken to be such a settlement being one of the towns selected for the Market Towns Initiative supported by Yorkshire Forward and the Countryside Agency. Hebden Bridge also falls into this category and is included within the Renaissance Study currently being undertaken for the Upper Calder Valley Area. There are limited opportunities for new housing in these areas, although the re-development of mills and former mill sites is adding to the housing stock of these towns. In order to meet housing needs and to assist the implementation of the Market Towns Initiative and the Renaissance Strategy several sites are allocated in the Upper Valley Area. The sites allocated in this Phase 3 include some greenfield sites. Planning permission will only be granted on the greenfield allocated sites if evidence is submitted that no alternative brownfield sites exist.

5.32 Phase 3 also includes the remaining mixed-use sites allocated in Policy E 4 ‘Sites Allocated for Mixed-Use’ of the Plan. These sites will contribute to the housing supply of the District although in the absence of any development briefs their precise contribution is unknown. For forward planning purposes, it is assumed that between 25% and 50% of each site will be developed for housing. It is also difficult to judge when such sites may come forward given physical constraints and the requirement for developers to bring forward schemes which meet the wider objectives for developing these sites. Some of these sites are inextricably linked to the wider renaissance agenda for Halifax, which is currently being formulated. Therefore whilst the sites are included in Phase 3 of the Plan it may be that some come forward earlier and this will be allowed in order not to jeopardise larger mixed-use schemes meeting wider regeneration and other objectives. The effect this may have on the supply of housing land will be addressed through the Plan, Monitor and Manage approach.

  

5.33 A substantial supply of sites, both brownfield and greenfield, was identified during the preparation of this Replacement Plan. Should there be a shortfall in housing provision in relation to the current housing requirement suitable additional sites will be allocated to meet any shortfall in housing provision.

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