Comment

Representation ID: 9633

Received: 15/03/2019

Respondent: David Wilson Homes

Agent: Barton Willmore Planning

Barton Willmore Housing Need Technical Note to SDLPR.
Summary of findings:
- The revised NPPF introduces the Standard Method (SM) for calculating housing need, the relevant Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) has been amended (February 2019) to state that the 2014-based MHCLG projections must be used for the calculation, and not the 2016-based ONS projections. The current SM calculated housing need figure for Solihull stands at 777 dwellings per annum (dpa) as of March 2019;
* Notwithstanding this, revised Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) states the SM figure represents the minimum housing need, and actual need may be higher;
* The Supplementary Consultation document identifies the clear economic growth aspirations for the Borough, including the significant development planned for High Speed 2 and the Interchange in the Borough. Housing delivery must be of a quantum to support these aspirations;
* Alongside this, the Council need to consider the aspirations of the GBSLEP in which they are located;
* The Council's evidence base provides a relatively recent (January 2017) assessment of baseline job growth prospects for Solihull, post-Brexit referendum, alongside a scenario which takes into account the potential job growth created by the HS2 Hub Interchange;
* These scenarios show annual job growth of between 800 and 1,080 jobs per annum. It is therefore imperative that the housing requirement for Solihull supports at least 800 jobs per annum, and more realistically the upper end of this range.;
* Our own sensitivity testing has established how the baseline population growth used to underpin the Standard Method would only support circa 450 jobs per annum;
* Furthermore the final Standard Method housing figure (777 dpa) would only support between 594 and 729 jobs per annum;
To support the range of job growth identified in PBA's 2017 report (baseline job growth of 800 per annum, and job growth to support the UK Hub of 1,080 jobs per annum), housing need for the Borough alone would need to be between 825 and 1,127 dpa;
* There is significant unmet need from the GBBCHMA. Solihull Borough Council acknowledge their role in helping to meet this unmet need;
* The most detailed and recent evidence in respect of unmet need comes from the Greater Birmingham HMA Strategic Growth Study (SGS). In addition the Black Country Urban Capacity Report (BCUCR) provides more recent analysis of capacity and need in that area;
* These reports suggest unmet need across the two areas ranging from a minimum of 28,000 dwellings up to 2031 (based on demographic need) and up to 80,000 dwellings (based economic need and unmet need from the Black Country identified by the BCUCR) up to 2036.