This borough’s Local Plan is “unashamedly ambitious and aspirational”, said Council Leader Philip Jackson.
His assertation was in response to a question asked by resident Lyndsey Downes at the recent full council meeting, held at Grimsby Town Hall. She said: “During a recent planning meeting item concerning proposed housing at Torbay Drive, between Scartho and Waltham, the Leader, along with other councillors, made an excellent case as to why the application should be refused. It was stated that as from March 2023, the annual imposed housing target on NELC would significantly reduce; down from the council’s so-called ‘aspirational figure’ to the Government requirement figure of 208 houses per annum. This in turn would lead to a greatly reduced five-year housing land supply requirement, and on that basis, if an appeal by the Torbay Drive developers against a planning refusal was not submitted by March, the chance of appeal success would be unlikely.
“Would the Council Leader now agree with many Conservative MPs who have seen sense that having mandatory housing targets set by Government which councils then increase under the guise of aspiration is extremely unpopular and leads to developers imposing housing where it is neither wanted nor required?
“The requirement to adopt the standard methodology figure, in our case 208 homes per annum, when a local plan tips over five years old in order to determine the five year housing land supply assessment, is a requirement of the National Planning Policy Framework. The Planning Practice Guidance states that ‘the standard method for assessing local housing need provides a minimum starting point in determining the number of homes needed in an area. It does not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies, changing economic circumstances or other factors might have on demographic behaviour. Therefore, there will be circumstances where it is appropriate to consider whether actual housing need is higher than the standard method indicates’.
“In other words, councils still have a duty to deliver housing to meet local housing needs. The indication for North East Lincolnshire, based on current build-out rates, is that there is a clear demand for more than 208 additional homes per year. In the last financial year there were over 600 new completions. The actual figure will be determined, taking into account all relevant factors, during the current review of the Local Plan.
“Regarding the recent Local Plan Review scoping consultation, more than 450 comments from interested parties have been made. This is a massive increase from previous consultation results and is, in our opinion, because there is a lot of ill feeling at the rampant housebuilding being pushed by NELC across the borough to enable them to maximise council tax receipts and the New Homes Bonus in order to try and to balance the perilous books. The council’s finances have undoubtedly been made worse by extortionate levels of borrowing for projects such as the Café at the Crem (over £400k borrowed) and Freshney Place (over £15 million borrowed) with little or no public consultation. The public have had enough, and the levels of response demonstrate this.
“It has been stated that the scoping consultation was ‘informal’ but it has not been made clear as to how that consultation will help create the draft local plan. Can the Leader give full assurance that the comments submitted do form part of a genuine consultation and will be fully taken into account when drafting the local plan at the next stage in order to maintain credibility and public trust in the process? This includes assessing the type and location of housing that the Borough actually requires, not the housing that makes maximum profit for developers.”
Councillor Jackson replied: “The volume of housebuilding in the area is driven by the current Local Plan which was unanimously agreed by this council in March 2018 after extensive public consultation and an examination in public by the Planning Inspectorate. The Local Plan is legally binding.
“It is unashamedly ambitious and aspirational. It aims to drive employment growth and make North East Lincolnshire a more attractive and vibrant place to live, aims shared by most local people. It will encourage some of the many who currently commute to jobs in the borough to actually live and spend their income here. It includes employment and regeneration schemes and the building of new, quality housing. The alternative is managed decline. Some people may be content to allow that to happen, but this administration, in common with most local people, want to see the area improve and move forward, with more opportunities for everyone, especially our young people.
“All capital projects undertaken by the council are subject to individual, robust business cases to ensure that they ‘wash their face’. In other words, that the income generated from them at least covers the borrowing costs, both repayments and interest charges and, ideally brings additional revenue into the council’s coffers. This is certainly the case with both projects quoted in the question. The purchase of Freshney Place was a brave decision and an example of this council demonstrating its place leadership role. While it was undoubtedly controversial at the time, most people are now recognising that it was the only way to ensure the delivery of Grimsby town centre’s ambitious regeneration plans.
“Turning to the Local Plan review process, it is both encouraging and welcome that so many people have engaged. The scoping and issues stage is considered an informal stage, with legislation allowing greater freedom in how this engagement is undertaken. The council will fully consider the responses. The Local Plan process is setting a framework for development across the whole borough. In so doing it must be consistent with national planning policy and the approaches taken must be supported by evidence. All consultation responses are logged and considered as part of the process, but the views expressed must be balanced against the need to deliver jobs, homes and supporting infrastructure to meet future needs.
“The council’s finances are undoubtedly challenging, in common with most local authorities up and down the country. However, they have nothing to do with determining the housing requirement and will not feature in the evidence presented to determine what is appropriate for North East Lincolnshire in terms of a suitable and appropriate Local Plan. That is not to say that there aren’t welcome revenue benefits from additional housing in terms of council tax receipts and New Homes Bonus. However, the main financial benefits from the delivery of an ambitious Local Plan are a thriving local economy with more, better paid jobs, with more local people in work and spending more money locally.”
Resident Paul Henderson also asked a question on similar lines. He said: “The population of Grimsby is dwindling, per the recent census, and levels of pay are not increasing. Meanwhile, interest and inflation rates continue to rise. Further, we have thousands of empty local properties and planning permission has been granted for houses that have not been built – presumably because we don’t need them. Fewer of us live in Grimsby, with less money in our pockets to support moving house. Yet the relentless march to build more houses goes on.
“I believe that the council’s desire to include building on the Freshney Valley, in the new Local Plan, will come at a cost to Grimsby rather than generating revenues. This is because only marginal increases in council tax revenues will quickly be exceeded by the cost of providing new amenities to such a huge development. If the Leader disagrees with that statement, could he share NELC’s revenue model which proves further development makes economic sense for the people of Grimsby?”
Coun Jackson responded: The aim of this administration is to make Grimsby a more attractive and vibrant place to live and encourage some of the many who currently commute to jobs in North East Lincolnshire to actually live and spend their income in the borough. This is the basis of our ambitious Local Plan, the transformation schemes in Grimsby town centre and the building of new, quality housing. The demand for housing is not driven by changes in total population alone; it is driven by market forces related to household formation, changing employment prospects, migration, and trends in the housing market.
“The council is required by central government to set out a Local Plan that looks forward at least 15 years; 30 years in the context of large urban extensions. Throughout such a period there will inevitably be changes to interest and inflation rates which will have a bearing on demand. The council has just commenced its review of the Local Plan, attracting significantly more interest and feedback than previous engagement in 2018. This valuable interaction with residents, businesses and stakeholders and exchange of information, alongside other evidence-based intelligence will ultimately determine what the Local Plan needs to look like. The formal decision, to approve the Local Plan will be made by the Full Council, just as it was in 2018.
“Regarding housing sites that have not yet commenced, this is normal in a healthy housing market. Housing developers will normally have a progression of sites to ensure the delivery of future homes. The fact that developers have progressed sites through to gaining planning consent is sign of strength in the housing market and a sign that they perceive future demand. Why would developers incur the cost of going through the planning process and building properties if there was no demand? Officers also meet local and national developers through the Housing Developers Forum ensuring any blocks preventing housing delivery, on behalf of the council, are eased or removed.
“While efforts are taken to address empty homes via the council’s Empty Homes Strategy, there will inevitably be a proportion of empty properties that remain vacant due to particular circumstances, which fall outside of the council’s control. However, the council works closely with numerous local housing charities and private investors, seeking innovative solutions to reduce empty homes and continues to charge additional council tax to the owners of long-term empty homes.
“I can confirm that council tax more than covers the marginal costs of providing additional services for housing developments and the cost of providing new amenities for new developments comes from range of sources including S106 agreements with developers, various external grants and private sector contributions. The council’s financial strategy is closely aligned to the council’s overall Economic Strategy, as well as the Local Plan. More people living within North East Lincolnshire means more spending in local shops and with local businesses, creating more support jobs in the local economy rather than wealth being taken out of the area and spent elsewhere. Experience up and down the country clearly shows that housebuilding DOES boost the local economy.
“The council remains fully committed to developing brownfield sites by securing external grants and facilitating housing development in urban areas through asset disposals, which are all subject to a business case planning process which incorporates detailed financial modelling.”
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