Object

Representation ID: 4781

Received: 17/03/2023

Respondent: Seaward Strategic Land Ltd and Owners of Land on Penny Lane, Hermitage

Agent: Luken Beck MDP Ltd

Legally compliant? Yes

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The District’s local housing need and the development strategy is ‘unsound’. The policy requirement to deliver 10,359 dwellings / 575 dwellings per annum, (dpa) over the Plan period (2021-2039), is derived from a supressed objectively assessed need of 11,497 / 638 dpa. Whereas this is referred to in paragraph 5.2 of the supporting text as a result of constrained highway capacity on the A27 there is provision within draft Policy I1 of the Proposed Submission Draft Local Plan and the associated Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) to ensure the infrastructure and funding mechanisms are available to support the delivery of housing.

The supporting text states the Council have made no provision to accommodate the unmet needs of the adjoining and other Local Authorities such as Arun District Council, who persistently fail to meet their housing delivery targets. The policy is therefore not considered to be positively prepared or consistent with national policy.

Paragraph 61 of the NPPF requires strategic policies to identify a minimum number of homes, through undertaking a standard method of assessment, unless there are exceptional circumstances to justify an alternative approach which also reflects current and future demographic trends and market signals.

The Council have not sufficiently evidenced the lack of capacity within the A27 or fully justified a departure from the standard methodology in any other regard. The proposed policy wording is therefore not considered to be positively prepared, consistent with national policy nor will it be effective in delivering the District’s full local housing need in sustainable locations, such as the Settlement Hubs and Service Villages.