Liverpool City Council - SHLAA

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Tuesday 9 February 2010

Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment

Updated - 16th November 2009

Introduction

Liverpool City Council and Wirral Council are undertaking a joint Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA).  This will identify land and buildings potentially suitable for housing development for a period of at least 15 years from 2008, in accordance with government guidance (PPS3 and SHLAA Guidance).

The SHLAA will be used to inform preparation of new planning policy through each authority's respective Local Development Frameworks - see links below.

• Liverpool - www.liverpool.gov.uk/ldf 

• Wirral - www.wirral.gov.uk/LGCL/100006/200074/856

Liverpool and Wirral's LDFs will need to implement the housing requirement targets set by regional planning policy - for both Liverpool and Wirral this is the North West of England Plan - Regional Spatial Strategy to 2021.

Liverpool and Wirral have also been successful in securing Growth Point Status, which will mean an increase of 20% in the overall regional housing target set by RSS over the period 2008-2017.  For more information see Liverpool and Wirral's respective housing strategy webpages.

Consultants, Roger Tym and Partners, have been appointed to undertake a detailed assessment of the viability and deliverability of potential housing sites identified in the joint SHLAA.  The identification and assessment of sites for Liverpool and Wirral is being undertaken as separate projects and to different timescales within the overall commission.

Liverpool Draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment Report

Roger Tym and Partners have completed the draft version of the Liverpool SHLAA report.  This is now published for comments for a 7 week period commencing on Monday 16th November 2009 and will close at 5:00pm on Monday 4th January 2010.

The Liverpool Draft SHLAA Report consists of the following documents, which can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

• Main Report - Liverpool SHLAA Draft Report
• Appendix 1- Draft Methodology
• Appendix 2 - Study Area Maps
• Appendix 3 - Residential Market Commentary Paper
• Appendix 4 - Site Assessment Criteria Note
• Appendix 5 - Density Assumptions Note
• Appendix 6 - Schedule of Category One Sites
• Appendix 7 - Schedule of Category Two Sites
• Appendix 8 - Schedule of Category Three Sites
• Appendix 9 - Schedule of Smaller Sites
• Appendix 10 - Spatial Distribution of C1, C2 & C3 Sites
• Appendix 11 - Description of the Database

We have also provided individual site profiles for all the sites fully appraised by Roger Tym and Partners (sites are arranged in order of Site ID).  These are the same sites as those listed in appendices 6, 7 & 8.

An interactive map showing the sites in the SHLAA is also available.  You can use this map to navigate around the city to view where sites in the SHLAA are located - the map can be moved around by zooming in/out and panning but you can also search by address as well as being able to find the nearest SHLAA sites to any given postcode.  The map shows the exact extent of all the SHLAA sites boundaries.  Use the info button to click on any site to reveal further details about the site - these appear below the map.

The schedule of sites in Appendices 6-9 are set out in the following way:

• Appendix 6 contains a list of all the Category 1 sites (i.e. those sites with the highest suitability, availability & achievability scores) that were assessed by Roger Tym & Partners.  The appendix is broken up into 5 separate lists, one for each affordability scenario.  The lists are ordered in Site ID number order.  Where a site has a yield of zero, this is because the sites overlaps with a larger site.  In this case the yield is set to zero in order to avoid double counting (see Appendix 11, para 2.2 for more information on this).
• Appendix 7 is set out in the same way as Appendix 6 but shows the Category 2 sites (i.e. those sites with a moderate score when assessed for suitability, availability or achievability).
• Appendix 8 is set out in the same way as Appendix 6 but shows the Category 3 sites (i.e. those sites with a low score when assessed for suitability, availability or achievability).
• Appendix 9 sets out all the smaller sites (less than 0.4ha in size outside the City Centre, or less than 0.2ha in the City Centre) that were not assessed for achievability by Roger Tym & Partners.

Please note that the identification and appraisal of any individual site included in the SHLAA does not infer that planning permission would be granted for housing development nor does it constitute a commitment to grant permission in the future. 

Comments are invited and should be submitted either by;

Email to:  development.plans@liverpool.gov.uk or

Post to:

Development Plans Team
Planning & Building Control
Liverpool City Council
Municipal Buildings
Dale Street
Liverpool
L69 2DH

Comments can be made in any form but should include your contact details, site ID, site address and / or report section / paragraph, to help us identify exactly what your comments relate to.  Alternatively, there is a comments form which you can use - this can be downloaded in Microsoft Word or PDF format below.

• Draft SHLAA Report Comments Form
• Draft SHLAA Report Comments Form

Progress So Far - The Liverpool SHLAA Process

Site identification has been based partly on sources known to Liverpool City Council (i.e. vacant land and buildings) and partly on new sites identified through a "Call for Sites" exercise, in which land-owners, developers, planning consultants and property agents were invited to submit sites that they consider to have potential for future housing development.

The Call for Sites exercise was undertaken between 16th March 2009 and 1st May 2009.

Also, at the same time, comments were invited on a Draft Methodology Statement.

Roger Tym and Partners have reviewed the preparation work undertaken by Liverpool to identify sites with potential for housing development and the Draft Methodology Statement, including responses.

Due to the large number of sites identified with housing potential, the assessment undertaken by Roger Tym and Partners has been undertaken on a sample basis, as follows:

• High level appraisal of 421 sites, followed by
• Detailed appraisal of 120 sites

A Further 'Call for Sites' Exercise  
 
In recognition that any assessment is only a 'snapshot' in time, and in anticipation that the publication of the Draft SHLAA may prompt land-owners, developers, planning consultants and property agents to suggest further sites, the call for sites exercise is now re-opened.

Although further submissions to the call for sites exercise will not be assessed by the consultants as part of this study, due to budget restrictions, they will be held for future site identification work and used in updating the SHLAA, which will be done on an annual basis.  Submission of a particular site for consideration does not constitute a planning application or imply a commitment from the local planning authority concerned that planning permission would be granted in the future.  Consideration of any development proposal will be subject to the relevant planning policies in operation at the time of the application.

All of the details of the sites submitted will be made public.  To submit a further site please use the links below to download a pro-forma:

• Microsoft Word Version
• PDF Version

The deadline for submission of sites is 5:00pm, Monday 4th January 2010.

A form should be completed for each site and sent either by post or email to the addresses indicated above. 

Next Steps   
 
The Liverpool Draft SHLAA is being used to inform the revised version of the Core Strategy Preferred Options Report, to be published for consultation shortly.

Roger Tym and Partners are now working on the Wirral Draft SHLAA - see Wirral Council's website for news on progress.

Comments regarding the Liverpool Draft SHLAA will be forwarded to Roger Tym and Partners and a final version of the Liverpool SHLAA is expected to be published in February 2010.

Following completion of the Wirral SHLAA, a separate report covering the Mersey Heartlands Growth Point will be published.

Housing Market Partnership

Liverpool and Wirral have established a joint Steering Group and a Wider Stakeholder Group to oversee the SHLAA.

The City Council will also be commissioning a Strategic Housing Market Assessment, to assess housing need, including affordable housing provision, across the city.  Further information is available on the Communities & Local Government website - http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/strategichousingmarket

We are seeking to both broaden the range of organisations and increase the number of representatives involved in the Housing Market Partnership.  If you would like further information or would be interested in participating, please email the Development Plans Team - development.plans@liverpool.gov.uk