Planning for New Housing in Dacorum James Doe,

Planning for New Housing in Dacorum James Doe, Assistant Director Planning, Development and Regeneration 20 February 2018 Today National Policy Housing growth and role of rural housing Dacorums response and new Local Plan Accommodating growth in the rural area Neighbourhood Planning Government Policy common thread of housing delivery Government Policy common thread of housing delivery

The Government has unveiled a raft of measures which it hopes will stimulate the housing market, encourage more developers to build and increase transparency around land ownership Sajid Javid sets out fix for broken housing market Proposals aim to spur councils and developers to build more quickly the government wants a standardised framework for calculating what needs to be built. Councils that miss their targets may have to surrender control over planning

to central government Our Current Local Plan the Dacorum Core Strategy Adopted 2013 early review needed Annual target of 430 homes - but considerably less than housing need Area under-delivering at about 400 homes/year Work on New Local Plan has to progress now Dacorums New Local Plan Need to look at:

housing need the Green Belt co-operation with neighbouring Councils employment, shopping and infrastructure needs. Need to cover the period up to 2036. Housing Need The SHMA identifies an overall housing need (2013-2036) as follows: Existing housing target per year New housing need per year Percentage increase

over existing target Dacorum 430 756 (17,388) 76% Hertsmere 266 599 125% St Albans

360 705 96% Three Rivers 180 514 186% Watford 260

577 122% 1,496 3,151 111% SW Herts total What do the numbers indicate? Source of Housing provision Upper Locally Government assessed need

Figure (756/yr) (c1,100/yr) Draft Government figure (602/yr) Number of homes 25,300 17,400 13,846 Total of presumed housing coming forward*

10, 940 10, 940 10, 940 14,360 6,460 2,906 Balance outstanding (which would need to be provided on sites in the Green Belt) Growth Scenarios for Dacorum Housing growth levels consulted on

1. Draft Government figure, 602/year 2. Locally assessed need, currently 756/year 3. Upper Government figure, c1,100/year Suggested geographic distributions A. Focus on three towns B. Greater focus at Hemel Hempstead C. More Dispersed across Borough Current infrastructure issues in the Parishes Kings Langley: Library has limited opening hours and will shortly be operated by volunteers. Lack of early morning and late evening bus services Little Gaddesden: Bus service constantly under threat. It is essential to have a car to

access services and facilities. Bovingdon: Overall bus service is poor no service after 6.30pm weekdays and none at all on Sundays. Lack of parking in village centre Tring Rural: Very limited bus service. Heavily reliant on Tring for services / facilities Next Steps on the Local Plan

Analyse consultation responses Liaison with nearby Councils strategic approach Awaiting new National Planning Policy Framework and confirmed housing need figures for Dacorum March / April? Prepare draft plan with locations and policies for consultation Timescale to be determined Examination, Modification and Adoption Planning for new housing in the rural area What the Housing White Paper says give much stronger support for sites that provide affordable homes for local people

highlight the opportunities that neighbourhood plans present for identifying and allocating sites that are suitable for housing, drawing on the knowledge of local communities; identify opportunities for villages to thrive, especially where this would support services and help meet the need to provide homes for local people who currently find it hard to live where they grew up; at least 10% of the sites allocated for residential development in local plans Where can rural housing go? Achieving Rural Housing

Rural Housing has an important role to play Identifying sites in the Local Plan The Exceptions approach Land outside the village envelope For affordable housing only Needs housing need survey Backing of Parish Council Identified Registered Provider Neighbourhood Planning

Dacorums first Neighbourhood Plan Unparished area Neighbourhood Forum had to be established Referendum 15 Feb 2018 77% voted YES Closing conclusions

Unprecedented pressure for new housing growth Need for rural housing is very high Engage with your Councils Local Plan process Achieving rural housing is hard work Consider exception sites

Consider a Neighbourhood Plan Thank you and questions