Object
Solihull Local Plan (Draft Submission) 2020
Representation ID: 14773
Received: 14/12/2020
Respondent: Rainier Developments Ltd - Land at Widney Manor Road
Agent: Marrons Planning
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? Yes
Duty to co-operate? Yes
The housing requirement and the Plan should be extended to 2037 based on likely adoption date.
Housing to reflect employment growth at UKC Hub not considered. Assumption that jobs filled by in-commuters is not sustainable. Housing requirement should be increased to account for employment uplift.
Housing requirement should be increased to take account of affordability issues.
Unmet housing needs of HMA not fully addressed. No agreement with other authorities on the approach and no evidence to support the figure proposed.
Unacceptable to propose an early review before a plan is submitted. In any event, additional Green Belt release will be required at this stage so land must be safeguarded.
Housing requirement should be expressed as a minimum.
Objections to how supply has been calculated. No evidence to support timely delivery of residential development at UKC, question deliverability of town centre allocation, issues with windfall assumptions, calculation errors in existing sites, no allocation of small sites.
The Plan will not provide for a five year housing land supply upon adoption. For all sites, there needs to be clear evidence that housing completions will begin within 5 years.
The housing requirement should be amended to take account of the likely realistic date of adoption; a more sustainable balance between the jobs uplift and commuting patterns; unmet housing needs; and an affordability uplift. The housing requirement should also be expressed as a minimum figure. The exact figure will need to be informed by further assessment by the Council.
The housing supply should be justified with evidence, and assumptions in relation to windfalls should be reviewed and amended. The housing supply should contain a buffer of 10% over the housing requirement to ensure delivery and that housing needs can be met should some sources of supply slip.
There is an insufficient portfolio of sites, in particular small sites, that can deliver quickly ensuring a five year housing land supply is achieved upon adoption. National planning guidance advises where a stepped trajectory is used local authorities could identify a priority of sites that could come forward earlier in the plan period in order to ensure housing needs are met. This emphasises the imperative to release further small sites within Solihull that can deliver quickly.
Policy P5 and the table of allocated sites should be amended to include land at Widney Manor Road (site 407) for nine dwellings as shown on the illustrative masterplan appended. The site is available for affordable homes, or self-build and custom housing.
Please see attached representations on behalf of Rainier Developments Limited for land at Widney Manor Road (Site 407)