CHELMSFORD DIOCESE

THAMES GATEWAY – OCCASIONAL PAPER: 2

URBAN HOUSING CAPACITY STUDIES

THE BACKGROUND: All planning authorities are required to produce an Urban Capacity Study. The purpose is to identify potential additional housing that can be obtained from within the existing built up area, without encroaching on land allocated for recreation or open spaces. The study will not lead directly to any building but gives planners an idea of the proportion of the new housing that they require which could be obtained in this way and therefore will not require building on ‘green fields’, etc.

HOW IT’S DONE: A survey is carried out using some, or all of, various techniques. These include – on the ground surveys, polling local people, modelling, extrapolating from samples, etc. From this a gross possible figure is obtained but this is discounted to get a final figure. (It being accepted that many of the possibilities in the gross figure will not come to fruition) During the study consultations will take place with all interested parties but not all information may be published because of commercial confidentiality.

BUT WHAT SORT OF THINGS ARE THEY LOOKING AT?:

- Subdivision of existing housing – e.g. convert houses to flats

- Flats over shops

- Bringing occupation to empty houses

- Reusing previously developed vacant/derelict land and buildings – e.g. development for housing of what is, colloquially, known as ‘brown field’ sites

- Intensification – e.g. build in existing large gardens

- Redevelopment of existing housing – e.g. demolish and rebuild

- Redevelop car parks

- Conversion of commercial buildings to housing

- Review of other existing allocations in Local Plan – land earmarked (but not yet used) for industry, retail, etc. to become building land

- Vacant land not yet developed

HOW DOES THIS DIFFER FROM WHAT WAS DONE BEFORE?: In the past land was only included in plans if it was ‘readily available’. The new government guidance requires land to be included wherever there is potential, but with discounting to allow for the fact that not all potential to prove deliverable. This does tend to give a green light to speculators to move in and try to assemble sites which can then be developed. (Anything from buying factories and closing them for redevelopment to buying parts of adjacent back gardens to form viable sites). But the overall aim is to be proactive in trying to build as much housing in existing urban areas rather than on green field land.

OTHER POINTS:

More housing = more people? Not necessarily. Average household size in the last 20 years has declined from 2.9 per house to 2.4 per house.

The more thinly we are spread not only is more land used for housing but public transport becomes less viable, local shops and services go out of business, etc.

However we do like our own space and our gardens!! Current government policy is to avoid developments with less than 30 dwellings per hectare (dph). They encourage 30-50 dph and high densities especially in accessible areas (near services, public transport, etc.) Current policy is to allow parking space at a maximum of 1.5 spaces per dwelling. (Interestingly building densities for 1989-2000 show overall English average at 25 dph, 28 dph where building on brown field sites, 21 dph on green field sites, 30 dph in the West Midlands, 49 dph in London but only 24 dph in the South East. Thus the lowest densities have been achieved in the South East which, conversely is the area with the highest pressure on land!!)

-----------------------------------------------

FINAL COMMENTS: These studies and other work being carried out by government and local authorities mark an attempt to redirect housing development in this country. They are aware that existing living standards are unsustainable in that we are becoming more and more dependent on the car with the consequence that public transport and locally based services become unviable. They are attempting to change this trend and to force us to live closer together – to develop a more ‘continental’ way of living. (Many continental cities work with much higher housing densities than our government is proposing) However the question remains as to whether the British public will buy into this idea. We like our gardens and our space. Many who live in urban areas have aspirations to move out, to live in the country, with all that implies for commuting, the existing rural populations (especially the rural poor), local services and the environment.