Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment

In October 2008 Tandridge District Council adopted its Core Strategy which sets out a planning vision for the next ten to fifteen years and explains the principles which will be used to deliver housinf requirements. The Core Strategy makes it clear there will be no change to the Green Belt boundaries, unless it is not possible to find sufficient land for housing within the built up areas.

Now the Core Strategy has been adopted, the next step is to ensure there will be a sufficient supply of housing land for the next fifteen years as required by the Governement. Even though new housing development has slowed down, the Council needs to do this research, to be ready when the housing market improves.

The first stage is to search for potential sites by carrying out a "Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment" (SHLAA). Because the government requires these assessments to be carried out, it has set out SHLAA CLG Practice Guidance (This link will open in a new window) about how this process should be carried out. It is important the Council follows this guidance to avoid possible challenges later on in the process. From time to time the Council may also refer to the Planning Advisory Service SHLAA PAS guidance note (This link will open in a new window).

The SHLAA is a technical process of assessing what sites may be capable of being developed, whether developers can bring the sites forward and the potential number of homes which might be developed on the sites. The SHLAA is not a planning policy document and does not allocate land for development, but it requires the Council to make judgements, such as whether a site is capable of being brought forward for development.

All potential sources of land will be considered in the SHLAA, although sites currently in the Green Belt on the edges of the built up areas will only be considered if there is insufficient land in the built up areas. However, not all sites considered as part of the SHLAA will survive to be included in the final report, and unsuitable sites which are not reasonable candidates will be eliminated. If a site is identified in the SHLAA, it does not necessarily mean it will be allocated for development. Inclusion within the SHLAA does not prejudge the outcome of any subsequent draft Site Allocations policy document.

The identification of a site within the SHLAA does not imply the Council would necessarily grant planning permission for residential development. All planning applications for such development will continue to be assessed against the Core Strategy and Local Plan policies. For example some sites in the SHLAA may be in existing commercial use and development for residential would be considered against the policies which seek to retain employment land.

This page will be updated as more information becomes available.

The steps in the process are:

Consultation on the methodology

The Council published its draft methodology in March 2009 and following consultation the methodology has been amended and agreed. The methodology is available below.

Call for sites

The Council has also made a "call for sites", this was done by inviting known land owners and developers to let us know about sites they would like the Council to consider. Sites may emerge at any time and therefore the Council will be pleased to receive details, particularly of sites in the urban areas, at any stage in this process. Please contact us (details below) for information on how to to do this.

Stakeholder panel

The Council has set up a "stakeholder panel" to assist with the SHLAA. The first meeting took place in June 2009 and agreed the Methodology.

Next steps

As at the end of July 2010 work on the SHLAA has been delayed by other projects and therefore no date for publication of the SHLAA has been set. However work has started on assessing the sites that have been put forward and any other sites we are aware of.

Document library

• SHLAA Methodology Consultation
• SHLAA Responses to methodology and Council comments
• SHLAA Methodology with tracked changes
• SHLAA Methodology revision June 2009
• SHLAA Methodology - final

For further information please contact Customer Services on 01883 722000 or e-mail planningpolicy@tandridge.gov.uk

Or write to us at:
Tandridge District Council
8 Station Road East
Oxted RH8 0BT

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