Agenda item

[To receive a presentation on the evening about the latest position on the Wolverhampton Local Plan]. 

[Slides will be sent out in advance of the meeting]. 

The Lead Planning Manager (Regional Strategy) gave a presentation on the Wolverhampton Local Plan, a copy of which is attached to the signed minutes.

Members debated the information contained within the presentation and asked questions to the Lead Planning Manager.

The Vice-Chair commented that it had been a useful update presentation and that the Local Plan was something which the Board should continue to monitor progression.  He asked about the process for “call for sites” and how housing need was calculated.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that there was a permanently open “call for sites”.  This information was available on the planning section on the website.  This was unlike some authorities which had clear cut off dates.  Government informed the authority on the formula that should be used to calculate housing need for the City.  The first stage was based on population projections produced by the Office for National Statistics.  Government, for the 30 largest cities in England, then increased that number by 30%. 

A Member stated that the green belt amount of land in Wolverhampton administrative area was less than 11% of the total area, which she understood to be the smallest percentage amount out of all the other Black Country authorities.  Many residents appreciated the green belt in Wolverhampton and in South Staffordshire.  The Lead Planning Manager confirmed that the Member was correct in her figure of 11%.  The Leader’s statement in January confirmed how serious the Council took the green belt land in Wolverhampton and the importance to local communities. 

A Member asked if the statistics on housing need could be challenged.  The Lead Planning Manager responded if it was clear there were issues with the Office for National Statistic figures, then there would be justification to challenge the target.  There was however no evidence of an issue in Wolverhampton.  Coventry had some issues as there had been errors in the census date.

A Member asked if social housing waiting lists was taken into consideration for housing need and adult children who were unable to leave the parental home due to a lack of housing provision.  The last time they had checked Wolverhampton Homes had over 10,000 people on the waiting list for a home.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that adult children living with parents was taken into account in the modelling.  There was not a direct connection on waiting lists for social housing, but the modelling was based on strategic housing needs for the City. 

A Member asked what would happen when there was no longer any land left to build homes in Wolverhampton.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that it would leader to higher house prices, multiple households effectively living in the same household and an impact on the local economy.

A Member asked if high rise apartment blocks would be built, when land became in short supply.  She also raised the importance of local infrastructure where new homes were built.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that increasing density of new development was something which would occur.  This however was finite because of the existing character of the City and the impact of people living already in the City.  There was clearly a limit on how far increasing density could ultimately go within the City.  They did assess infrastructure and sometimes would require new developers to pay for new infrastructure based on population needs.

A Member asked if the housing needs of the City could be met within the City boundaries or if neighbouring areas needed to contribute to the plans.  The Lead Planning Manager responded he felt the housing needs could be accommodated within the City’s boundaries.  In the event there was a shortfall there was the duty to cooperate with other local authorities in the area, to see if they could assist with the shortfall.  Some success in this area had already been achieved working with Shropshire and South Staffordshire. 

A Member referred to the Land Hero App he had been using which enabled people to identify derelict sites.  Payment was provided from the providers of the app for new sites identified.  He encouraged Members to consider using the app. 

The Vice-Chair asked for confirmation of the status of the South Staffordshire Local Plan.  As in the draft plan he believed there were a number of sites which were effectively extending the Wolverhampton urban area.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that a couple of months ago they had issued a statement saying they were unpausing work on the Local Plan review.  He anticipated that as soon as the National Planning Policy framework was released, they would review the allocations in the plan they had consulted the Council on and then move forward with an updated plan as necessary. 

The Chair asked about the Neighbourhood plans of which Wolverhampton currently had two, Tettenhall and Heathfield.  He asked if others in the City were being developed.  The Lead Planning Manger responded that neighbourhood plans were led by the community through neighbourhood forums.  The Council couldn’t instruct communities to prepare neighbourhood plans.  They were however happy for communities to approach them and support them in the construction of any plan. 

The Chair asked how many housing permissions had been granted which had not yet been built and the same for neighbouring authorities.  The Lead Planning Manager responded that he did not have the figure at the meeting but could provide this after the meeting.

The Chair complemented the Lead Planning Manager on his presentation and in his answers to Board Member questions.  There was clearly a lot of work ahead on the Local Plan, which was critical to the development of the City.