Decision details

1.            That the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) attached at Appendix 1 be agreed and published as part of the evidence base for the Local Plan 2036.

2.            That authority be granted to the Strategic Planning Manager, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for the Built Environment, to make any necessary edits and minor alterations prior to the publication of the SHELAA.

The SHELAA is a key part of the evidence base for the Local Plan 2036. It is  a register of the sites that the Council has been advised are available for development following a “call for sites.” The Council has undertaken a high level assessment of these sites to determine whether they are suitable for development and if so what their capacity would be. 

 This SHELAA  differs from previous ones in that it includes  small sites to be identified in accordance with the revised National Planning Policy Framework, which requires local planning authorities to accommodate at least 10% of their housing requirement on sites no larger than one hectare. .

This removal of the lower threshold has resulted in an additional 25sites being submitted for consideration. Some sites which were submitted for consideration in the last SHELAA were not resubmitted this time either because they have been developed or the land is no longer available. This has resulted in an increase of 11 sites overall available for consideration in the 2019 SHELAA.

The preparation of a SHELAA is required by Government as part of the Local Plan evidence base, so to not prepare one is not a realistic option and could result in challenges to the Local Plan.