Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan

7. Sandwell's Housing

Introduction

7.1 The policies in this chapter will help to create a network of cohesive, healthy and prosperous communities across Sandwell. This is a fundamental element of the Plan's Vision and objectives and will help deliver its strategic priorities. The policies will also ensure the provision of a balanced range of housing in terms of type, tenure, wheelchair accessibility and affordability, and specialist provision for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople and for those who wish to undertake self-build or custom build. New housing will be of a high build quality and will be well-designed, meeting national space and water efficiency standards and delivering high levels of energy efficiency and adaptation to climate change.

7.2 Maximising sustainable transport access to key residential services and focusing high density increases in areas of greatest accessibility is at the heart of the Spatial Strategy, helping to deliver Strategic Objectives 6, 7 and 15. Providing a balanced network of quality education facilities is a further key part of this approach and will help to deliver economic prosperity.

Sustainable Housing Growth

7.3 A key role of the SLP is to set out realistic targets for the delivery of sustainable housing growth over the plan period up to 2041.

Justification

7.4 The council has identified sufficient land to provide 11,167 additional homes by 2041. 97% of the supply is on brownfield land and 3% of the supply is on greenfield land. The Sandwell Policies Map illustrates the distribution of housing sites across the borough. A balanced range of sites has been provided, in terms of size, location and market attractiveness, which will help to maximise housing delivery over the Plan period. Across the borough, 10% of identified supply in the Plan and in the most recent Brownfield Register is on sites no larger than 1ha, which is in accordance with the requirement set out in the NPPF at paragraph 069.

7.5 The details of proposed housing allocations are provided in Appendix B and sites are shown on the Policies Map. Housing capacity has been identified in accordance with the Spatial Strategy and is based on the following information:

1. Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments (SHLAAs) and the Black Country Employment Area Review (BEAR);
2. An estimate of the likely scale of housing renewal up to 2041;
3. An estimate of likely windfall development on small sites up to 2041;
4. An assessment of the capacity of West Bromwich strategic centre above existing supply, drawing on the West Bromwich Master Plan and Interim Planning Statement;
5. An estimate of the likely capacity of vacant floorspace in town, district and local centres;
6. Application of a density uplift to existing allocations likely to gain permission after 2025, in line with Policy SHO3;
7. An estimate of the additional 'aspirational' growth that will be delivered in the regeneration areas and on sites identified in masterplans and other supplementary guidance;
8. A comprehensive land review and site assessment process.

7.6 The housing supply from allocations on occupied employment land has been discounted by 15% to take account of the multiple delivery constraints that typically affect such sites and that are likely to reduce delivery on a minority of sites. Delivery constraints include poor ground conditions and the need for large-scale master-planning, land assembly, business relocations and residential service access improvements.

7.7 The supply from allocations on other land in the urban area and on small (<10 home / 0.25 ha) sites without planning permission has also been discounted by 10% to allow for non-implementation, as some of these sites are also affected by delivery constraints such as poor ground conditions.

7.8 The supply from sites with planning permission but not yet under construction has been discounted by 5% in accordance with historic lapse rates. These discounts are balanced rates that take account of the likely availability of external funding to address constraints, as set out in the Viability and Delivery Study.

7.9 Together, these discounts provide sufficient flexibility in the housing land supply to meet any unforeseen circumstances.

7.10 Allowances for structural change, as detailed in the Urban Capacity Review (2023), are made up of two sources - potential sites and surplus floorspace within West Bromwich Strategic Centre (drawing on the West Bromwich Master Plan and Interim Planning Statement) and for Tiers Two and Three centres (as defined in Policies SCE4 and SCE5). The structural change allowances are over and above the small windfall site allowance. The latter represents a continuation of historic rates, whereas the former represents a structural change in the factors giving rise to new housing sites which is it predicted will generate additional supply over the Plan period. These include changes to shopping patterns, permitted development rights and work patterns arising from COVID impacts.

7.11 The Plan period has been divided into four phases, covering every five years from 2022. Housing targets for each phase are provided in Table 5. These are based on the housing trajectory set out in Appendix I, with further detail provided in the SHLAA. The trajectory demonstrates a steady supply of housing completions over the Plan period, justifying consistent housing targets throughout the Plan period. As set out in the NPPF (paragraph 74), the Council is seeking to confirm through the SLP the existence of a five - year housing land supply from the year of adoption (2025). For this purpose, the buffer applied to housing supply (as set out in the housing trajectory) will be 20%, in line with the most recent Housing Delivery Test results (2022).