Agenda item

This report presents the Arun’s Monitoring Report 2022/23. The full draft report is provided as Background Paper 1 (published on the council’s web site).

The Planning Policy and Conservation Manager was invited by the Chair to present the report. The report updated members on Arun’s Monitoring Report (AMR) which is updated for the monitoring year 2022-23.  It was noted that the report was a retrospective report with the land statistics included, such as housing and commercial development, relating to the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.   However, at the time of writing the report any contextual information was added if there was any research that had become available, and it would be made clear that the information received was out of the monitoring period.

He referred to paragraph 4.4. that set out the key headlines, in particular the changes made this year in the way the Five-Year Housing land Supply (FYHLS) was calculated.  This was in relation to the age of the Adopted Arun Local Plan, which was more than five years’ old, and the requirement for Local Planning authorities to use the standard housing methodology.  Therefore, the Council’s headline figure had increased from a 2.36, in the council’s previous AMR to a 4.17 Five-Year Housing Land Supply.  There would be a significant affect from the change in methodology that accounted for the increase in the FYHLS.  There would though be some elements where the council’s Housing performance has improved largely due to completions and delivery agreements.  Another factor was the council was no longer required to include the Local Plan housing backlog in the calculation  because the standard housing methodology included an affordable housing uplift based on how adverse the council’s affordability index was.   The Council was still monitored under the housing delivery test, which was currently oscillating between 60% and 65-66% so still need to add in a buffer of 20% into the housing supply calculations.  A stepped increase in housing completions, with 931 reported during the reporting period, which was one of the highest numbers the council had achieved compared to other years.

The Chair then invited questions and comments from members.  Members raised a number of points which were responded to by the Group Head of Planning.  He drew attention to the 5-Year Housing Land Supply Table, at paragraph 4.46,  which included a buffer of 20%, and therefore in realty a 5-year Housing Land Supply could be shown if the buffer was not applied.  Housing delivery rates were expected to slow even further during 2025  and members were assured that officers were doing all they could to encourage the commencement of development following planning permission.  The Planning Policy and Conservation Manager advised that, as regards to the Council’s Duty to Cooperate, several meetings had taken place with Southern Water and the Environment Agency.  The issues discussed were the Gypsy and Traveller Local Plan and issues surrounding water and flooding issues and a review of the Common Statement of Grounds last reviewed during 2017 by way of a waste water treatment catchment ‘headroom’ process. Southern Water review their catchment areas using the latest Arun housing numbers to work out the waste water headroom in terms of the impact on the three wastewater catchment areas in Arun figures.  If development could not be supported by the current infrastructure there would need to be an increase in investment and if that was not possible there would be a likely need to reallocate the housing figure elsewhere with the infrastructure.  He confirmed that both headroom and treatment capacity were included in officers’ discussions with Southern Water.  A member stated the importance, in light of the recent floods, that as well as the waste water treatment works’ headroom capacity, it was important to include the limitations of the network capacity in the discussions.  The Planning Policy and Conservation Manager confirmed that both topics were part of the discussions and these discussions with Southern Water and the Environment Agency were welcomed by members. 

During further discussion a comment was made, as regards to the  FYHLS, that the Council was limited in what could be done to improve the Supply, as it was at the behest of the housing developers who were underdelivering their housing developments. 

The Group Head of Planning referred to one of the consultation proposals put forward by the Government regarding the NPPF, which was to remove the buffer from the FYHLS numbers but this did not happen.  If that proposal had been implemented the Council would have a FYHLS today

A non-member of the committee was allowed to make comment and ask questions. Comment was made on the stepped trajectory based on promises made by developers to build out their development.  He stressed the need for strong scrutiny of the development build out rates to take place when preparing the next Local Plan and made comment on the council’s affordability ratio.

The meeting adjourned at 6.51pm due to a problem with the live Webcast and resumed at 6.59pm.

The Committee noted the Authority Monitoring Report for publishing.