Object

Representation ID: 60275

Received: 26/07/2013

Respondent: Mr Harry Johnson

Agent: Bond Dickinson LLP

A top down approach starting with the requirement and then subtracting the various known sources of supply to arrive at an allocation requirement and then to assume that all of that allocation requirement will come forward in the required period is unrealistic. This assumes that all the known sources of supply will deliver their full requirement. Past experience shows that there is always a dropout rate from windfall and small urban sites. Even commitments very seldom produce all of their capacity. Therefore there is a need to allocate beyond the bare arithmetical requirement to ensure that needs are met in the required period. The reliance on an extremely high proportion of the total allocated area, effectively in one broad location to the south of Warwick, (3195 dwellings out of 6630 or approximately 50%) also makes the Council extremely vulnerable to delayed delivery, a factor all too common on large sites. The Council requires major infrastructure investment in this area and this will take some time to provide and is quite likely to slip. Also large single sites are always subject to marketing constraints. Put simply, several smaller sites, more widely distributed, will always sell at a quicker rate than one large site in a single location. This factor can therefore result in a further delay in development coming forward from a large site at the required rate to meet needs. The Council needs to fully recognise the fact of non-take-up and slow delivery and allocate further land for development in sustainable locations. The exact extent of allocations will of course be determined by the final housing needs figure emerging from the revised SHMA.