To receive a presentation from Councillor Derek Davies – Lead Member for Built Environment.  

39.1           The Mayor invited Councillor Davies, the Lead Member for Built Environment, to make his presentation to the Council.

39.2           The presentation covered the following key points:

·           Focus – Establishing the Planning Policy context; delivering housing numbers; providing affordable housing; and the challenges faced.

·           Joint Core Strategy – Progress to date – The examination had been running from May 2015 to July 2016. In November 2015 the Council had submitted its document for examination and in May 2016 the inspector’s Interim Report had been received. Officers had been working on the Main Modifications and approval for the changes would be sought from all three JCS authorities in October. If approval was received, the Main Modifications would be consulted upon and the responses considered by the Inspector in early 2017 with further hearing sessions likely in February/March 2017. The Inspector’s final report would be expected in spring/summer 2017.

·           Tewkesbury Borough Plan – Consultation on the Borough Plan had been undertaken in February 2015 but further work had been delayed due to the timescales and resources needed for the JCS. Despite that delay, work on the evidence-base had been moving forward in preparation for the next draft – that work included the Strategic Assessment of Land Availability and the Employment Land Review. The Borough Plan also looked at other key areas including the Sports, Social and Open Space Study, the Housing Strategy 2017-22 and the A46/A438/M5 J9 Study – all of that evidence and the background studies were important in developing the sites and policies of the Borough Plan. It was expected that consultation on a further draft of the Plan would begin in Spring 2017.

·           Neighbourhood Plans – Tewkesbury Borough had 13 designated Neighbourhood Areas covering 18 Parishes. All of the Plans were at different stages with the most advanced being Highnam and Winchcombe & Sudeley Combined. The newest Plans were The Leigh and Stoke Orchard & Tredington Combined.

·           Delivering New Housing – There was a national drive to increase housing supply. The JCS identified nearly 10,000 homes in Tewkesbury Borough, most of which would be delivered through the strategic allocations. However, non-strategic sites would also contribute to that figure. There had been an unprecedented number of unplanned developments across Tewkesbury Borough many of which were complex. This was shown by the income from the planning fees: 2012/13 - £648,582; 2013/14 - £669,291; 2014/15 - £910,618; 2015/16 - £1,266,974; and 2016/7 - £1,030,000 (estimated).

·           Total Market and Affordable Completions – Since the economic recovery new homes building in the Borough had been excellent. The Council Plan 2016-20 target was 150 new affordable homes per year and for the financial year 2016/17 the Council was set to achieve 149 new affordable homes in the Borough. New homes had been delivered in the main areas of Bishop’s Cleeve, Winchcombe, Brockworth and Longford. In addition there had been 24 new affordable homes on rural exception developments in Apperley, Gretton and Norton and there had been regeneration work by Severn Vale Housing and Rooftop Housing which had provided 46 new affordable homes.

·           Providing Affordable Homes – The Challenges – In the fifteen years from 2000-15, average house prices had increased 2.96 times whilst incomes had only grown by 1.45 times. The growth in income levels had not kept pace with the increases in property values which meant that many people were priced out of owner occupation in the Borough and the need for affordable products was likely to continue.

·           Starter Homes – This was an initiative being brought in via the Housing and Planning Act 2016 - a vision of discounting new homes by up to 20% had been out for consultation. However, that discount would be given by the developer and would not be in perpetuity on future sales. Home ownership was the government’s driver in housing, believing more homes would be built, particularly starter homes, in the near future. If starter homes were to be considered affordable housing in the future, this would affect the Council’s current position of what it could provide onsite on new developments. The affects would need to be fully assessed as part of the next strategic housing market assessment alongside other home ownership products.

·           The Right Housing for the Right People at the Right Time – The Borough population was roughly 85,800 and, assuming current population trends continued, the population would reach 93,400 by 2025 and 100,400 by 2037. Age profiling showed that future housing solutions would need to meet the needs of an increasingly older population. Population changes would present a bigger challenge for the Borough in relation to additional pressure on health and social care and the need for more specialist accommodation. There was also evidence that a number of homes in both the social-rented and market sectors were currently under-occupied, particularly in rural areas. There continued to be an increase in one person households with the house type projected to overtake all others by 2033; while couples on their own and small families increased at a relatively steady rate and larger family growth remained small.

·           Welfare Reform – Affording Rents – A number of welfare reforms had already been introduced which would make rented accommodation harder to afford for many tenants including those in social housing. It was thought that 534 low income households in the Borough may be affected by welfare reform. The main changes included: the benefit cap being reduced to £13,400 for single people without children; those with spare bedrooms in social housing being penalised through the ‘bedroom tax’; the local housing allowance limiting the amount of housing benefit that could be received – this would affect some households in ‘affordable rent’ social housing where rents were higher than the Local Housing Allowance; the withdrawal of entitlement to child tax credit for families having a third child was to be introduced after April 2017; young people under 21 would lose housing benefit if not in work or training; the benefit cap limited the total benefit income most working-age households could receive to £20,000 per annum – this would affect families on benefits with three or more children within the area; and the Local Housing Allowance would also affect those under 35 on low incomes in self-contained accommodation as one bedroom Local Housing Allowance rates were lower than rents for one bed accommodation in social housing.

·           Being Innovative to Meet the Needs of our Communities – It was recognised that, to meet the needs of its communities, the Council must look to do things differently. The use of alternative construction methods may be able to unlock land to provide new homes and energy efficient properties. In addition, the Council was looking at how to raise finance for new affordable housing through negotiating financial contributions, known as commuted sums, and using the money to meet Council Plan and Housing Strategy targets such as homelessness prevention initiatives and rural exception developments.

39.3           During the discussion which ensued, a Member questioned whether the government would step in and impose a Development Plan on the Council if the JCS was not approved by March 2017. In response, the Deputy Chief Executive explained that the Council was a long way down the road with its Plan so, if it remained on course to be approved by summer 2017, she did not feel the government would step in. In terms of housing design, a Member questioned whether there was any way the Council could influence the process so that new homes were more aesthetically pleasing. He also questioned whether the Council could look at affordability to ensure that it really was affordable. Another Member asked that the presentation be circulated to all Members as it contained a number of interesting data sets; the Deputy Chief Executive indicated that this would be done following the meeting.

39.4           One Member advised that he had undertaken some market research in Bishop’s Cleeve and he had been astonished at how quickly houses were selling even at £510,000 for a five bed property in Stoke Orchard and £568,000 for a five bed property in Bishop’s Cleeve. In addition, he felt there were some really good schemes in affordable housing out there which Tewkesbury Borough ought to be looking at and he understood that some affordability could be held in perpetuity which was something he felt the Council should be considering. The Deputy Chief Executive advised that affordable housing had increased year on year and alternative models of delivery were being looked at; there was a real intention to keep increasing delivery to meet need.

39.5           Referring to the modifications to the JCS, a Member questioned whether those residents that would be particularly affected by the changes had been forewarned about the possible implications to ensure they had ample opportunity to make their feelings known to the Inspector. Members were advised that the modifications made to the JCS would be decided by the three JCS authorities and, following that, there would be a consultation period during which residents and developers etc. could make their feelings known. In reference to recent Ministerial Statements regarding the threshold for affordable housing, Members were advised that there had been some challenges to government policy recently and the current position was that Councils could not have a policy on affordable housing if the development was 10 or less but this did not affect the Council seeking a contribution for affordable housing. In terms of how that position developed the Council would have to keep an eye on the situation.

39.6           Accordingly, it was

                  RESOLVED          That the presentation provided by the Lead Member for Built                              Environment be NOTED.