South Tyneside Council met on Thursday 5 September and councillors voted 26 to 23 with one abstention to reject the latest version of their Local plan. This means that it will not proceed to the Secretary of State for examination and adoption. More details were reported by the Shields Gazette.
Whilst the rejection of the Local Plan may seem like good news, particularly in relation to the proposed development on Green Belt at Fellgate, it does raise serious concerns given the new Government’s proposals in their consultation into the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). If adopted the revised NPPF would INCREASE South Tyneside’s ANNUAL housing requirement from the current target of 309 units to 706, which equates to some 3500 new homes over the next 5 years. Given the council has been unable to deliver the current target, an annual requirement of 706 homes would be unachievable without significant use of the Green Belt across the borough.
You may wish to add your own comments to the NPPF consultation or raise it with your elected councillors and MP and encourage them to challenge the proposed changes which do not take into account local circumstances.
Depending where in the forum area you live your MP is either emma.lewell-buck.mp@parliament.uk or kate.osborne.mp@parliament.uk.
Local councillors for the Cleadon and East Boldon ward are cllr.rhiannon.curtis@southtyneside.gov.uk cllr.shirley.ford@southtyneside.gov.uk and cllr.david.herbert@southtyneside.gov.uk
MORE DETAIL
The Forum has previously expressed concerns about the Local Plan but the latest draft only included one development site in the Forum area, North Farm at the junction of Boker Lane and New Road.
One of the first things the new Government did after winning the election was to open a consultation into the NPPF. This is a complex document but some of the key changes which affect South Tyneside are highlighted below. Items in italic are direct quotes from the consultation.
The consultation:
- Introduces more demanding housing targets and reinstates the requirement to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply at all times. Where this is not the case (as currently in South Tyneside), there will be a “presumption in favour of development” (the “tilted balance”). Permission should be granted unless doing so would cut across protections for safeguarded areas, like National Parks and habitat sites, or the adverse impacts would ‘significantly and demonstrably’ outweigh the benefits when assessed against the NPPF taken as a whole. This is to address “chronic undersupply of land” and to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years.
- Removes the use of exceptional circumstances to calculate alternative housing requirements.
- Introduces the concept of “Grey Belt” which should be released from “low quality” Green Belt:
“Grey belt: For the purposes of Plan-making and decision-making, grey belt is defined as land in the Green Belt comprising Previously Developed Land and any other parcels and/or areas of Green Belt land that make a limited contribution to the five Green Belt purposes (as defined in para 140 of this Framework) but excluding those areas or assets of particular importance listed in footnote 7 of this Framework (other than land designated as Green Belt).”
- Requires that planning authorities who are unable to meet housing requirements should undertake a Green Belt review:
“Under the existing NPPF, there is no requirement for local planning authorities to review Green Belt where they fall short of housing need. Instead, local planning authorities may choose to review and alter Green Belt boundaries where exceptional circumstances are fully justified. We propose correcting that, to require local planning authorities to undertake a review where an authority cannot meet its identified housing, commercial or other need without altering Green Belt boundaries.”
- Aims for a “more balanced distribution” of homes across the country that is straightforward to understand and apply. This “standard method” proposes as a starting point, that each local planning authority should increase their existing housing stock by 0.8% EACH YEAR. It assumes that this will ensure “that new homes can maximise existing infrastructure such as public transport, schools, medical facilities and shops.”
- Allows for “Transitional Arrangements” which would apply to Local plans which are under preparation. However, where the housing numbers between the current and new NPPF requirements differ by more than 200 (as would be the case in South Tyneside) authorities will be required to begin preparation of a plan under the new system as soon as possible.
- Plans which have reached Regulation 19 publication stage but not submitted for examination one month after the revised framework is published, will need to be revised in line with the revised NPPF before submitting the plan for examination no more than 18 months after the publication of the revised NPPF.
The new plan making system is intended to be implemented in the summer or autumn of 2025. Current plans which are not subject to the transitional arrangements would need to be submitted for examination no later than December 2026.
If you live or work in the East Boldon Forum area then you are welcome to join the Forum. Please get in touch with us.
If you wish to contact us for any reason please leave your details on the Contact Us page.