Return to Agenda

Division(s): All

ITEM EN6

ENVIRONMENT SCRUTINY COMMITTEE – 23 FEBRUARY 2005

SOUTH EAST PLAN AND RELATED ISSUES

Report by Head of Sustainable Development

Introduction

  1. The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) is consulting the public on the draft South East Plan. The consultation period is from 24 January to 15 April 2005. A second round of consultation on a district housing distribution will take place later this year. Following consultation the Regional Assembly will submit the Plan to the Government who will undertake further consultation and hold a public examination. The Government hopes that the Plan will be adopted in 2006.

  2. This report outlines the key issues addressed by the draft South East Plan, the housing options for the region that are being consulted on and issues in relation to the sub regional elements of the Plan that relate to Oxfordshire.

  3. The report also sets out the current position on Swindon and the South West Regional Strategy and the Milton Keynes and South Midland Sub Regional Strategy.

  4. A report on the South East Plan is to go to the Executive on 15 March. The Committee is asked to consider any initial views that they wish to convey to the Executive.

    5. The South East Plan

  5. The South East Plan will guide development in the region up to 2026. When Government approves it, the South East Plan will replace current Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) and the Structure Plan for Oxfordshire.

  6. The core strategy in the draft Plan emphasises the region’s key international and inter regional role, and the need to reduce economic and social disparities between the east and west of the region.

  7. The Plan places considerable importance on adequate infrastructure and notes that too often investment has lagged behind development, or in some cases has not happened. The Assembly now expects to see more specific commitment and assurance by Government about infrastructure investment. The Assembly say that the overall scale of development in the submitted Plan will be conditional upon progress in developing a concordat with Government on the issue.

  8. The draft Plan does not put forward a preferred scale of development or distribution pattern. SEERA are consulting on a range of options for the future distribution of housing. Options for Central Oxfordshire and the rest of Oxfordshire are included in the draft Plan.

  9. The draft Plan asks for views on three levels of housing growth for the region and where new development should be directed. The three options for levels of growth are:
    • 25,500 homes a year - the average over the last 5 years
    • 28,000 homes a year - about the same level as achieved last year
    • 32,000 homes a year - reflecting forecasts of demand and migration

  1. The Plan notes that the rate of growth could vary over the Plan period perhaps rising in the middle period and then falling away. It suggests different merits with lower levels of growth bringing relatively modest infrastructure requirements and probably lesser environmental impact but being unlikely to meet forecast housing demand and potentially inhibiting growth in labour supply. Conversely the Plan suggests that growth at the highest level would increase infrastructure and possibly environmental demands and be more likely to respond to housing demand.

  2. Development in the region is to be focused on and around urban areas. SEERA are consulting on two options for the future distribution of housing in the South East:

        1. Continuation of existing policy – essentially a roll forward of the pattern of development established in existing regional planning guidance.

        2. Sharper focus – placing more emphasis on a combination of areas requiring regeneration and areas with notable economic potential.

  3. SEERA’s options for housing growth in the Central Oxfordshire sub-region and the rest of Oxfordshire are shown in the following table:

    4.  

    Option (i)

    Continuation of Existing Policy

    (dwellings per annum)

    Option (ii)

    Sharper Focus

    (dwellings per annum)

    Current RPG9 annual rate

    Structure Plan 2016 annual rate

    Annual building rate 1996-2004

     

    Low

    Medium

    High

    Low

    Medium

    High

    -

    -

    -

    Central Oxfordshire

    1300

    1500

    1700

    1400

    1600

    1900

    -

    -

    1460

    Rest of Oxfordshire*

    700

    800

    900

    300

    300

    400

    -

    -

    670

    Oxfordshire*

    2000

    2300

    2600

    1700

    1900

    2300

    2430

    2487

    2130

    *Excluding a part of South Oxfordshire which is in the Western Corridor sub-region.

  4. The County Council in November 2004 advised SEERA that new development in Oxfordshire should not exceed the rate of development contained in the Structure Plan Review (RPG – 2,430 houses per annum) for the South East plan period 2001/2026 and the proportion to be located in the central Oxfordshire sub-region for 2016/2026 should not exceed 1,600 houses per annum.

  5. The options that are being consulted on in the draft South East Plan could mean the building of between 9,000 and 27,000 dwellings up to 2026 in the county in addition to those proposed in the draft Structure Plan 2016.

  6. The Plan contains "cross cutting" policies - including policies on climate change; resource use; inter-regional connectivity; use of public land; infrastructure and implementation and green belt. The Regional Transport Strategy as published by the Secretary of State in July 2004 forms the basis of transport policies in the Plan. The policies in the plan aim to create the necessary framework for phasing infrastructure and land release.

  7. The Plan says that existing green belts will be retained. The Assembly considers there is no case for any strategic review of green belt within the region.

  8. On the economy the focus of the Plan is to identify the underlying economic drivers and to exploit untapped potential in all parts of the region. The Plan also identifies areas where a particular focus on regeneration is required and includes Oxford amongst them.

  9. The Plan places special emphasis on the provision of a significantly increased supply of affordable housing in the region. It includes an overall target that 40% of all new housing should be affordable.

  10. A section in the Plan on strategic water resources says that a small number of strategic new reservoirs are likely to be needed in the region and that an Upper Thames Reservoir could be required.

  11. Sub–regions are identified in the Plan including two which cover parts of Oxfordshire - Central Oxfordshire and the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley – which are identified as areas of economic opportunity where the draft Plan suggests planned provision needs to reflect potential and the development needs arising from economic expansion.

    12. Central Oxfordshire

  12. The County Council led work on the preparation of a strategy for the sub-region involving the district councils and other partners. Issues identified in the Plan for Central Oxfordshire include:

    • exploiting the potential of the economy

    • tackling transport congestion

    • providing necessary physical, social and economic infrastructure

    • housing availability and affordability

    • protecting Oxford’s character and setting/role of green belt

    • how to meet social and economic needs while protecting the environment and ensuring the wise use of resources

  1. The draft South East Plan outlines two options on the location of housing in the Central Oxfordshire sub-region:

    • (A) Development at larger settlements beyond the green belt with growth focused at Bicester and Didcot;

    • (B) Urban extensions to Oxford, including development in the Oxford green belt.

  1. The County Council’s preferred strategy for Central Oxfordshire is option A, subject to caveats about the provision of infrastructure and the rate of growth not exceeding that in existing regional planning guidance. The district councils’ views vary with some supporting A, some B, and some other variants. All agree on the need for necessary infrastructure to be put in place before any further growth takes place.

  2. The draft Plan does not include district housing provisions. The County Council has been asked by SEERA to prepare housing distribution options for the sub-region related to housing figures that SEERA are consulting on and the spatial options considered in the sub regional strategy.

  3. Similar work is being commissioned for the parts of Oxfordshire outside the sub-regions, including for the part of South Oxfordshire within the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley sub-region. The options will then be reported to the Regional Planning Committee and the Assembly to be followed by consultation later in 2005 prior to submission to the Secretary of State.

  4. The County Council is being asked to do additional work in Central Oxfordshire on infrastructure, employment land demand , affordable housing and policy development.

    5. Western Corridor

  5. Part of South Oxfordshire (parishes close to Reading) is in the Western Corridor and Blackwater Valley sub region, which covers the Berkshire unitary authorities and parts of Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Surrey. Oxfordshire has been represented on the officer and member groups that have been looking at the sub region.

  6. The Plan identifies the key issue facing the sub-region as how the economic buoyancy of the area and its quality of life may be maintained having regard to growth already planned at Heathrow, the very tight labour and housing markets in the area, growing levels of in commuting and pressure on water, transport and community infrastructure.

    7. Swindon

  7. Work spatial strategy for the South West is at a less advanced stage. Consultation on a draft RSS will take place during summer 2005. Work is underway on sub-regional strategies including one for the Swindon area, to be submitted to the Regional Assembly in April 2005.

  8. Oxfordshire County Council is represented on the Swindon Joint Study Steering Group which is overseeing preparation of the sub-regional strategy.

  9. Although the study area has been drawn widely to include parts of Oxfordshire including Wantage and Grove and Faringdon this only represents a sphere of influence. Proposals for major new development in the sub-region will take the form of extensions to the Swindon urban area.

  10. A public consultation exercise is underway to establish views on a number of issues including the scale of development and potential directions for growth. Options being tested include 16,000 (equivalent to current growth rates), 20,000 (an increase of 25% on current rates) and 24,000 (an increase of 50%) in the period 2016 to 2026. Directions for growth being considered include large-scale urban extensions to the north-west, south-west and east of the existing Swindon urban area. Growth to the east could affect communities within Oxfordshire including Bourton and Shrivenham.

  11. An response to the consultation is being prepared. There will be an opportunity to provide a further response taking account of the technical work when the strategy is submitted to the South West Regional Assembly in April.

    12. Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy

  12. The Secretary of State’s proposed changes to the Milton Keynes and South Midlands (MKSM) Sub-Regional Strategy were published in October 2004 setting out a strategy for the growth area up to 2021. For that part of the growth area within the South East region – Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Vale - the strategy has been extended to 2026 as part of the South East Plan. Significant growth is focused on the urban areas of Milton Keynes and Aylesbury. This is likely to have implications for east – west transport links with Oxfordshire.

  13. The MKSM strategy identifies East-West Rail as a strategic infrastructure priority which is ‘under consideration’ for implementation in 2007 – 2016 although the relevant policy refers in more general terms to ‘improvements to east-west movement by public transport’. Improvements to the A421 Tingewick to Milton Keynes are also identified as being under consideration. Separately ODPM has recently commissioned a study to examine the scope for better integration of sustainable transport and future development options along the western section of the east-west corridor in the MKSM growth area. This extends from Milton Keynes to Bicester and Aylesbury but will also take account of linkages to Bedford in the east and Oxford in the west.

    14. RECOMMENDATIONS

  14. The Committee is asked to consider:

          1. any initial views that they wish to convey to the Executive; and

          2. whether it would wish to nominate a task group of 3 members to scrutinise the South East Plan prior to its consideration by the Executive on 15 March 2005.

CHRIS COUSINS
Head of Sustainable Development

Background papers: Nil

Contact Officer: Ian Walker Tel. Oxford 815588

February 2005

Return to TOP