This document summarizes key aspects of producing an effective local plan according to the Planning Advisory Service (PAS). It outlines that PAS provides support to local authorities to improve planning services and respond to reforms. The document then discusses determining housing need and supply, including objectively assessed need, the 5-year land supply requirement, and the duty to cooperate with other authorities on strategic issues. It emphasizes the importance of having a deliverable plan to meet identified needs and determining viable housing sites and infrastructure needs.

1. Leadership Essentials:
Delivering Your Local Plan
Steve Barker - PAS
October 2014 www.pas.gov.uk

2. What is Planning Advisory Service
for?
“The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) is part
of the Local Government Association. The
purpose of PAS is to support local planning
authorities to provide effective and efficient
planning services, to drive improvement in
those services and to respond to and deliver
changes in the planning system”
(Grant offer letter for 2014-15)

3. Key Facts
• Started in 2004
• Funded by DCLG
• 11 staff. Supplier framework. Peer community.
• Always subsidised. Mostly without charge.
• Non-judgemental. Not inspectors
• Respond to reform. Keep you current
• Support, promote, innovate

4. PAS 2013/14 impact assessment
results
1,890 responded to our surveys and the headline
results are that PAS:
• are worth using: 97% rated our service a good use of their
time
• remain relevant: 88% think we are and are getting even
more so
• help people improve: 92% said we improved their ability to
do their work
• have depth in the sector: 75% shared information they
received from us.
• provide value for money: 88% felt our service was value for
money.

5. PAS 1 to 1 plan making support
• OAN and 5-year land supply
• project management for plan-making
• a review of your evidence base or your plan
• advice on community engagement
• advice on your sustainability appraisal
• councillor briefing on plan-making
• plan viability
• plan review
• strategic planning and the duty to co-ooperate

6. Objective
This programme is designed to help delegates
to take an active leadership role in producing or
updating their local plan, receiving advice on
individual issues to be confident to produce a
sound local plan. The course will look at the
issues of Objectively Assessed Need and
having a 5 year housing land supply and other
challenges in producing a sound local plan.

7. The Agenda: day 1
• Local Plan Issues & Challenges
- Steve Barker (PAS)
• Local Plan Production Issues:
Objectively Assessed Need
5 year housing land supply
Duty to cooperate
….
- John Baker (Peter Brett Associates)

8. The Agenda: day 2
Start: 9am (prompt)
Review of day 1 and follow up questions
– Steve Barker (PAS)
PINS questions & discussion session
– Keith Holland (PINS)
Lunch 1.00
Finish

9. Leadership Essentials:
Producing your Local Plan
members’ workshops
John Baker

10. dealing with
• housing requirement
• housing provision in local plans
• five years supply
• going forward

11. housing requirements are the driver
250,000
homes
needed
each year
125,000
homes being
provided

12. making provision in the plan
“ to boost significantly the supply of housing “
“ Local planning authorities should...seek to
ensure that their Local Plan meets the full,
objectively assessed needs for market and affordable
housing...
NPPF March 2012
“

13. critical and unavoidable points
• local planning authority is responsible for identifying
the housing requirement for its area, as part of the
wider Housing Market Area
• the plan sets out the level of provision to be made
• requirement and provision have to be rooted in
evidence
• housing provision has to be part of an integrated plan
• the provision made in the plan can be less than the
identified requirement, but the planning authority will
have to provide substantive justification for this
approach

14. five year supply and development
management
• in the absence of a plan and / or a five year supply,
the Council is prone to predatory planning
applications
• the presumption in favour of sustainable
development at the heart of the Framework
means permission should be granted unless any
adverse impacts would significantly and
demonstrably outweigh the benefits

15. housing numbers for a planning authority
identify
the
housing
supply
assess the
housing
requirement
can include
from other
local
authority
areas
need can be met in
part from other local
authority areas
establish the level of
provision for the plan
test
deliverability of
the supply
plan provision is the
basis for the five year
supply calculation

16. approach to setting the housing requirement now
established by combining demographic and economic
scenarios
Most credible - eg reflecting long term
migration trend
Demographic scenarios
Economic scenarios
Most credible - eg reflecting sectoral
forecasts and committed strategy
• if economic led requirement greater, take this
• if lower, use demographic led requirement

17. the ghost of regional strategies
• use of previous regional strategy housing figures
has been formally rejected by Inspectors
• local planning authorities have to produce their
own figures using current evidence
• but the spatial strategy may be relevant – places
didn’t move at abolition

18. The ‘duty to co-operate’ requires more than
consultation with adjacent Councils and
specified bodies. It requires a co-ordinated
process for securing sustainable development
and resolving strategic issues. From the
evidence I have seen I consider that the
Council’s approach to capture of ‘beyond the
plan area implications’ falls short of fulfilling
the ‘duty to co-operate’.
Kirklees Plan Inspector April 2013

19. duty to cooperate
- unless met the local plan Examination cannot proceed
straightforward - constructive, ongoing engagement
agreeing to avoid anything difficult does not meet the
spirit of the duty to cooperate
-
local authorities addressing the strategic issues of the
functional area of which they are part, in their own local
plans
-
soundness
test
- far more demanding
- addressing unmet housing requirements from
neighbouring authorities is part of a ‘positively
prepared plan’
legal test
-

20. identifying provision for the plan
• capacity of the area has to be comprehensively
and thoroughly assessed
• the plan – and hence the housing supply – has to
be deliverable
• understanding of infrastructure requirements and
funding
• critical to engage with developers
• short and long term provision

21. housing supply for inclusion in the plan
• completions
• commitments (permissions)
• sites within identified settlements assessed in the
SHLAA
• sites beyond settlement boundaries allocated or
as ‘broad locations’
• small sites allowance (or windfalls)

22. Having identified the full objectively assessed needs figure the
decision maker must then consider the impact of the other
policies set out in the NPPF. The Green Belt policy is not an
outright prohibition on development in the Green Belt. Rather
it is a prohibition on inappropriate development in the
absence of very special circumstances. It is entirely circular to
argue that there are no very special circumstances based on
objectively assessed but unfulfilled need that can justify
development in the Green Belt by reference to a figure that
has been arrived at under a revoked policy which was arrived
at taking account of the need to avoid development in the
Green Belt.
Hunston Properties – High Court Decision September 2013

23. changes to Green Belt
• national planning policy has always provided for
change to the Green Belt to be made through
development plans
• the case for change exists in any case where the
development requirement exceeds what can be
satisfactorily and confidently delivered within the
urban areas, and green field land will be needed,
some of which is Green Belt. This need constitutes
‘exceptional circumstances’
• Green Belt is not sacrosanct

24. deliverability
• the plan should be deliverable over its plan period
• local authorities should identify and update annually a
supply of specific deliverable sites to provide five
years worth of housing against their housing
requirements
• deliverable means available now, offers a suitable
location for development now, and be achievable
with a realistic prospect that housing will be delivered
on the site within 5 years, and in particular that
development of the site is viable
• this emphasis is forcing plans to identify smaller,
easily deliverable sites in strong market areas, rather
than complex regeneration areas or strategic sites
with long lead times

25. critical role of viability
sites have to be viable (capable of providing
competitive return) when all costs and values
taken into account, including:
• identified infrastructure requirements
• payments due under CIL and s106
• effect of plan policies, such as affordable housing
and sustainable construction
all of which should be dealt with in a good plan
through common use of viability evidence

26. five year supply
• Framework requires plan to identify a five year
supply to be sound
• supply for next five years to make up any backlog
and shortfall (‘Sedgefield’ method)
• NPPG confirms this as preferred practice to
address the spirit of the Framework
• supply to be found is 5 years of provision plus 5%
or 20% for flexibility

27. backlog
Under-provision that has accrued against previous
development plan target
OAN period
Plan period
Backlog
Current year

28. shortfall
Under-provision that has accrued in this plan period
OAN period
Shortfall
Plan period
Current year

29. 5 year supply calculation
5 year land
supply target 5 Annual
target
Deliverable
supply
Annual target
Supply in years
5 year land
supply target
Deliverable
supply
Surplus/deficit
Plan requirement
for 5 years
Robust
figure/years in
plan x 5
Shortfall/Surplus
Completions
compared to
requirement in
plan period
Buffer
5% or 20%
depending on
persistent under-delivery
5 year land
supply target

30. example
OAN 15,000 over 15 years in under-providing authority
Year 1: 5000 +Shortfall (0) + buffer (20%) = 6000
Year 1-5: 4000 completions
Year 6: 5000 + Shortfall (1000) + buffer (20%) = 7200
The aim of having a supply this great is not to get 7200
dwellings built but hopefully to get somewhere near 6000
built.
The requirement remains as per the OAN for years 1 - 10 (ie
4000 built + 6000 = 10,000).

31. these issues don’t
go away if ignored

32. in the absence of a plan
• five year supply is the critical argument
• without a plan the requirement to meet is likely to
be the latest household projection
• any backlog, shortfall and flexibility allowance all
to be added to the supply to be found
• availability, viability, lead times and sales rates are
all questions for deliverability of claimed supply

33. in the absence of a plan
• policies in plan that are out of date (by not
addressing current housing requirements for
instance) are not given weight by Inspectors
• the critical example is a site
beyond the defined
development boundary of a
settlement

34. going forward
putting a plan in place
- strategy, proposals and policies based in compelling
evidence
- may consider a stepped approach to planned provsion
in the meantime.....

35. use of Interim Housing Statements
• a possible approach
• a good tactic or a distraction?
• status?
• policy or evidence?
• essentially a means of the local planning authority
taking control of the housing numbers to be used
for calculation of five year supply ahead of up to
date plan
• for discussion .....

36. one message
compelling evidence provides planning control

37. Leadership Essentials:
Producing your Local Plan
members’ workshops
John Baker

38. coffee

39. Green Belt and Local Plans
John Baker

40. dealing with
• origins and intentions
• Green Belt in modern planning
• reviewing Green Belt
• dealing with community interests

41. origins of Green Belt
In 1580 Queen Elizabeth 1 ordered a three mile wide
belt around London to stop the plague
A great city and a cluster of towns, all
separated by a rural belt, so that
inhabitants have the benefit of both
town and country
- Ebenezer Howard, Garden Cities
of Tomorrow, 1902

42. origins and intentions
1938 London Regional Planning Committee proposed the
Metropolitan Green Belt around London
1955 MHLG Circular Green Belts
The Minister accordingly recommends Planning Authorities to consider
establishing a Green Belt wherever this is desirable in order:
a) To check further growth For a large built-up area;
b) To prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another; or
c) To preserve the special character of a town
Wherever practicable, a Green Belt should be several miles wide so as to ensure
an appreciable rural zone all round the built up area concerned.

43. current extent of
Green Belt in England
• 14 separate areas of Green
Belt
• about 1,639,540 hectares
• about 13 percent of the land
area of England
• slight increase in area
between 2007 and 2011
• many parts of Green Belt
now subject to review
through plans

44. examples
interesting variation
classic Green Belt

45. the purposes of including land in Green Belt
• to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up
areas
• to prevent neighbouring towns from merging into
one another
• to assist in safeguarding the countryside from
encroachment
• to preserve the setting and special character of
historic towns
• to assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the
recycling of derelict and other urban land
NPPF 2012

46. current relevance of Green Belt - positive
much of the ‘urban fringe’ is designated as Green Belt
• urban fringe is a valuable resource
• nearest opportunity for outdoor recreation to large
numbers of people in urban areas - if publicly accessible
• increasingly valuable for food and energy production
near to users
• should be positively managed
• multi-functional community forests - excellent example
of positive initiative

47. current relevance of Green Belt - negative
• places cannot remain unchanged yet meet modern
needs and expectations
• we are under-providing housing to critical levels
• the presence of Green Belt inhibits rational decision
processes about the location of development
• most Green Belt was established 40 or more years ago
and has not been objectively considered since

48. an example of the effect
of Green Belt on planning
decisions
• Green Belt drawn ‘several
miles wide’ around
London
• entirely arbitrary
boundary in relation to
Chelmsford - part in, part
out
• hence restrictive policy
influencing planning for
Chelmsford which has no
connection to the place

49. relationship of Green Belt with modern
development plans
• Green Belt was conceived in a time without development
plans
• previously Green Belt was created - and changed - in two
stages - ‘general extent’ in the strategic plan, boundaries
defined in the local plan
• now only local plans to deal with Green Belt change
• Local Plans - ‘positively prepared’ can make changes to the
Green Belt, where ‘exceptional circumstances’ exist
• Local Plans should take the opportunity to see that if there
is Green Belt that it is appropriate now

50. Green Belt and sustainable development
• ‘any person or body engaged in the preparation of LDDs must
exercise the function with the objective of contributing to the
achievement of sustainable development’ (2004 Planning Act)
• reporting on the environmental implications of reasonable
alternatives is a statutory requirement of plan making
• the most sustainable locations for development may be in the
Green Belt
• when drawing up or reviewing Green Belt boundaries local
planning authorities should take account of the need to
promote sustainable patterns of development

51. changes to Green Belt
• national planning policy has always provided for
change to the Green Belt to be made through
development plans
• the case for change exists in any case where the
development requirement exceeds what can be
satisfactorily and confidently delivered within the
urban areas, and green field land will be needed,
some of which is Green Belt. This need constitutes
‘exceptional circumstances’
• Green Belt is not sacrosanct

52. Having identified the full objectively assessed needs figure the
decision maker must then consider the impact of the other
policies set out in the NPPF. The Green Belt policy is not an
outright prohibition on development in the Green Belt. Rather
it is a prohibition on inappropriate development in the
absence of very special circumstances. It is entirely circular to
argue that there are no very special circumstances based on
objectively assessed but unfulfilled need that can justify
development in the Green Belt by reference to a figure that
has been arrived at under a revoked policy which was arrived
at taking account of the need to avoid development in the
Green Belt.
Hunston Properties – High Court Decision September 2013

53. housing provision – not the only strategic issue, but
the big one!
250,000
homes
needed
each year
125,000
homes being
provided

54. duty to cooperate
‘Local planning authorities should work collaboratively with other bodies
to ensure that strategic priorities across local boundaries are properly
coordinated and clearly reflected in individual Local Plans’
• as a strategic policy, Green
Belt should be assessed by
local authorities
collectively
• does a neighbouring
authority’s non Green Belt
land prevail over local
Green Belt?

55. safeguarded land
• the framework requires the planning authority to
‘satisfy themselves that Green Belt boundaries will
not need to be altered at the end of the development
plan period’
• ‘where necessary identify in their plans areas of
‘safeguarded land’ between the urban area and the
Green Belt, in order to meet longer term
development needs strategy well beyond the plan
period’
• another requirement of a Green Belt review - but how
much safeguarded land?

56. Green Belt reviews
• must be undertaken comprehensively
• must include an assessment of the contribution
keeping land open makes to the 5 purposes of
Green Belt
• to justify use for development through the Local
Plan assessment needs to take account of
sustainability issues - such as accessibility and
environment assets
• need to identify safeguarded land not needed in
this plan period

57. use of the five purposes in
reviewing Green Belt

58. to check the unrestricted sprawl of large
built up areas
• a restrictive policy to prevent something being
unrestricted
• other planning mechanisms do this in any case
• what does sprawl mean?
• has it the meaning now it had in the 1930’s when
Green Belt was conceived?
• is development that is planned positively through a
Local Plan, and well designed with good
masterplanning, sprawl?

59. to prevent neighbouring towns from
merging into one another
• should this purpose be used in relation to small
settlements near to towns?
• subject to what it relates too, probably the most
locationally specific of the purposes
• is the identity of a settlement really determined by
the distance to another town?
• what about the character of the place and of the
land in between?

60. to assist in safeguarding the countryside
from encroachment
• presumably all Green Belt does this, making the
purpose difficult to use to distinguish the
contribution of different areas
• is there a difference between urban fringe and
open countryside?

61. to preserve the setting and special
character of historic towns
• relates to very few
settlements in practice
• In most towns there is
already more recent
development between
the historic core and the
countryside between
the edge of the town

62. to assist in urban regeneration by
encouraging the recycling of derelict and
other urban land
• the amount of land with in urban areas that could
be developed will already have been factored in
before identifying Green Belt land
• if Green Belt achieves this purpose, all Green Belt
does to the same extent

63. land might be favoured for development in an
assessment against Green Belt purposes if..
• it would effectively be ‘infill’
• the development would be well contained by the
landscape - with rising land for instance
• there would be little harm to the qualities that
contributed to the distinct identity of separate
settlements
• a strong boundary could be created with a clear
distinction between ‘town’ and ‘country’

64. combining the results of different
assessments
• are all purposes treated as equally important?
• some assessments assess land according to number of
purposes affected, some according to effect on ‘most
significant’ purpose
• assessment against Green Belt purposes to be
combined with assessment according to other issues
• should plans identify for development the most
sustainable locations, unless outweighed by effect on
the overall integrity of the Green Belt?

65. example of assessment of Green Belt

66. Woking Green Belt

67. Woking Green Belt
typical urban fringe
a positive resource
open countryside

68. constraints

69. Excluded Land and Assessment Parcels

70. dealing with Green Belt change
• Green Belt is very controversial, and hugely
misunderstood
• Green Belt has to be considered in the context of
proper planning for the whole community and for
sustainable development
• avoid allowing a special, mythical status to Green Belt
– set alongside such as use of agricultural land,
increasing risk of flooding and effect on valuable
landscapes in deciding where development is to be
provided
• its about informed debate and leadership

71. Green Belt and Local Plans
John Baker

72. The Agenda: day 2
Review of day 1 and follow up questions
– Steve Barker (PAS)
PINS questions & discussion session
– Keith Holland (PINS)
Lunch 1.00
Finish

73. Planning inspectorate:
Questions & discussions
• Keith Holland - PINS

74. Introductions
• Name, authority & position
• Present stage of production of your local plan
• Target publication date
• 3 key issues

75. What will you do when you
return to your authority?

76. PAS 1 to 1 plan making support
• OAN and 5-year land supply
• project management for plan-making
• a review of your evidence base or your plan
• advice on community engagement
• advice on your sustainability appraisal
• councillor briefing on plan-making
• plan viability
• plan review
• strategic planning and the duty to co-ooperate

77. Forthcoming PAS events
• Plan making & updating - 1 to 1 support
• Supporting Neighbourhoods
• Planning Quality Framework
• S106 obligations and CIL
• Viability training
• Duty to cooperate
• Leadership Essentials Plan Production
• Economic & Financial Impact of Planning
View www.pas.gov.uk/events for details.

78. Two things to do before 10am tomorrow:
1. Sign up for the
PAS Bulletin.
2. Follow us on
Twitter.
(Both accessible from
our homepage.)

79. Please leave your badges
The support doesn’t end
now: