Object

Solihull Local Plan (Draft Submission) 2020

Representation ID: 14553

Received: 11/12/2020

Respondent: St Philips - Land at Stratford Road, Hockley Heath

Agent: Lichfields

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Representation Summary:

DSP fails to set out a detailed, site-specific housing trajectory outlining the anticipated delivery rates of all the strategic allocations, which fails to demonstrate the rate at which UK Central Hub will deliver.
The proposed growth strategy is largely predicated on the delivery of UK Central Hub - 2,740 units in the plan period up to 2036 (18% of supply).
For clarity, it should be noted that whilst an anticipated housing supply of 2,740 dwellings within the plan period is referenced at paragraph 89 and 222, Policy UK1 does not itself explicitly state the dwelling capacity allowed for by the allocation.
Notably, neither the Hub Framework Plan nor the Arden Cross Masterplan provide an up-to date trajectory for the delivery of housing within the allocation for within the plan period.
The site represents wholly unrealistic delivery rates which not only justifies the need for the Council to present a more detailed, site-specific housing trajectory, but warrants the Council to decrease the 2,740-dwelling figure assumed for supply within the plan period.
Start to Finish (Second Edition) identifies that the average timescale of validation of an outline application to completion of the first dwelling for sites of over 2,000 dwellings is 8.4 years. Notwithstanding that an outline planning application on land at UK Central Hub has yet to be submitted, the research also finds that the average build-out rate for sites of over 2,000 dwellings is 160 dpa. Consequently, even if an outline planning application for the proposals at UK Central Hub were to be submitted to align with the Examination in Public, the build-out rates implied by the Council, as above, are wholly unrealistic. The assumed delivery by the Council of 2,740 dwellings by 2036 should therefore be decreased to a more realistic rate equating to 160 dpa from 2029, or 1,120 dwellings.

Change suggested by respondent:

In order to ensure that the Policy approach taken is sound, it is considered that:
• An indicative housing capacity figure should be explicitly referenced in the Policy text;
• The anticipated housing supply figure of 2,740-dwellings, as referenced at paragraphs 89 and 222 (the housing land supply schedule), should be decreased to a more realistic rate equating to 160 dpa from 2029 to 2036, or 1,120 dwellings.

Full text:

see attached submission document