7.1 The Council’s strategy for housing growth during the Local Plan period sets out the amount and location of housing that will be delivered in the district. This includes support for the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town by the allocation of the Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow, forming part of one of the four new Garden Communities, which makes a major contribution towards meeting the housing requirement for Harlow. In addition there are a number of smaller housing allocations in Harlow, which also contribute to the Garden Town vision and Harlow’s housing need, and will be required to be delivered in accordance with the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Vision and Design Guide.
7.2 The Housing Strategy seeks to deliver a wide range of housing types including market, affordable and specialist housing to meet future generations’ needs. The scale and type of housing needed has been identified in technical studies in accordance with national planning policies and guidance.
7.3 The main study, the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA), calculates the Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN) for the district, including affordable and specialist housing requirement. However, in order to contribute to meeting the district’s affordable housing need, provide a critical mass for regeneration and urban renewal, and to help meet the wider needs of the Housing Market Area (HMA), additional housing above the OAHN has been proposed.
7.4 This chapter and the policies contained within it will help deliver the Council’s Corporate Priorities, as follows:
7.5 This chapter and the policies contained within it will help deliver the following Local Plan Strategic Objectives:
HS1 Housing Delivery
The Local Plan identifies sites to deliver at least 9,200 dwellings during the Local Plan period (1 April 2011 to 31 March 2033).
In view of the lead time for bringing forward the Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow, together with the sites at Newhall and the Princess Alexandra Hospital, this will be provided in accordance with a stepped requirement of 361 dwellings per annum from April 2011 to March 2024 and 501 dwellings per annum from April 2024 to March 2033.7.6 The Local Plan must ensure there is a sufficient supply of dwellings to meet Harlow’s Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN) of 6,820 dwellings. To contribute to affordable housing need, the regeneration of the district and to help meet the wider needs of the HMA, an additional 2,380 dwellings are proposed, giving a total requirement of 9,200 dwellings during the Local Plan period.
7.7 As at 31 March 2019, 2,463 dwellings had been completed and there were 4,723 dwelling commitments, leaving a further requirement for 2,014 dwellings. Anticipated sources of supply are shown in Fig. 7.1. The projected surplus over the requirement allows for flexibility, possible slippage of large sites and for some permissions to lapse.
Fig. 7.1: Dwelling supply
| Completions at 31 March 2019 | 2,463 |
| Commitments at 31 March 2019 | 4,723 |
| Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow | 2,600 |
| Policy HS2 sites | 834 |
| TOTAL SUPPLY | 10,620 |
| Surplus over 9,200 requirement | 1,420 |
7.8 National planning policies state there should be a significant increase in the delivery of new homes, with local authorities responsible for establishing the right level of local housing provision in their area, and identifying a long-term supply of housing land based on objectively assessed development needs. This means the Local Plan must establish the level of housing across the area and identify where it will be delivered.
7.9 It is important the Local Plan provides homes to meet the aspirations of local people and to attract new people to live and work in the area in order to support the district’s regeneration objectives. The Local Plan must also ensure the housing needs of different types of households are met by providing the right types and mix of housing within the HMA.
7.10 A number of factors are considered when establishing the housing requirement in the OAHN: past completion rates, existing commitments, potential housing supply from the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, population and household projections, and aspirations for employment and regeneration.
Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN)
7.11 The assessment of housing need and the Council’s housing strategy in the Local Plan reflects the principles set out in national planning policies and guidance. Various Evidence Base studies, including the Greater Essex Demographic Forecasts and economic evidence, have informed the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) and the Harlow Future Prospects Study.
The Harlow Future Prospects Study: Linking Regeneration and Growth (2013)
7.12 The Harlow Future Prospects Study links significant new development and the regeneration of the district.
The Greater Essex Demographic Forecasts 2013 – 2037 (Phase 7, May 2015)
7.13 The Greater Essex Demographic Forecasts analyse historic job growth and project the future jobs growth for the HMA and how the job growth may be distributed across the four local authorities.
Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) and OAHN
7.14 The SHMA was jointly undertaken between Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford and East Hertfordshire District Councils, as these Councils’ housing markets are interlinked to form the functional HMA within which the OAHN, including affordable housing need, is established.
7.15 The September 2015 SHMA indicated a need for 46,100 dwellings in the HMA.
For Harlow, the OAHN was identified as 5,900 dwellings, including 3,400 affordable dwellings.
7.16 An update to the SHMA was produced in August 2016, based on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2014 household projections and sub-national population projections. This assessment indicated that the OAHN for the HMA is 54,608 dwellings, an increase of nearly 11% on the 2015 SHMA figure of 46,100 dwellings. This update indicates that the OAHN for Harlow is 7,900 dwellings.
The proposed requirement of 9,200 dwellings will meet this need.
7.17 A further update in February 2017, based on proposed ONS changes to household projections, indicated a reduction in the OAHN to a need for 50,700 dwellings over the HMA. The update did not differentiate the total to individual Councils as the ONS had not finalised the methodology.
7.18 A further review of the SHMA was carried out in July 2017. This concluded that the OAHN for the HMA is 51,700 dwellings over the Local Plan period, an increase of 6,200 dwellings above the household projections, which represents a 14% increase. This includes both market and affordable housing.
7.19 The number of dwellings apportioned to Harlow in the 2017 update was 7,409 which equates to 337 dwellings per annum over the Local Plan period. This figure was used as the basis for the OAHN when preparing the Local Plan.
7.20 However, in June 2020, the Office for National Statistics published more up to date 2018-based household projections which form the latest available starting point to estimate housing need. Using these lower projections as the starting point but adjusted for longer term migration trends, suppressed household formation and market signals, the 2020 SHMA update indicates the OAHN for the HMA as a whole is 48,915 dwellings and within this 6,820 dwellings for Harlow.
Harlow Strategic Site Assessment
7.21 The Strategic Site Assessment assesses the strategic housing requirements for the HMA in accordance with the provisions of the Duty to Co-operate.
7.22 The objectives of the Assessment are to:
7.23 The Assessment sets out spatial options for the distribution of 46,100 dwellings, identified in the September 2015 SHMA. The consultants who produced the SHMA advised that the latest release of sub-national population projections and household projections could increase the dwelling requirement in the OAHN to 54,600 dwellings for the HMA. The consultants also considered that the transport network would not be able to accommodate the full level of growth.
7.24 The preferred spatial option identified in the Assessment indicates that 51,100 dwellings could be accommodated across the HMA. This would represent a lower figure than that based on the latest ONS projections, but would reflect the capacity of the highway network.
Housing Requirement
7.25 The housing requirement for Harlow meets the housing need, as evidenced by the SHMA, and supports the Council’s priorities to achieve more and better housing and to regenerate Harlow. To achieve these, the housing requirement for Harlow has been set at 9,200 dwellings, which includes completions and commitments since 1 April 2011 and sites allocated in the Local Plan.
7.26 The requirement is 2,380 above the OAHN identified in the 2020 SHMA update to meet Harlow’s affordable housing and regeneration needs, to help meet the wider needs of the HMA, and provides an additional buffer should any allocated sites not come forward within the Local Plan period. It will also fulfil the requirement of national planning policies to boost significantly the supply of housing and improve affordability.
Housing Supply
7.27 National planning policies require the Council to identify a supply of specific deliverable12 sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing13 . In addition, a buffer of 5% should be added to the five-year requirement, or 20% if there has been a significant undersupply of dwellings in the past. Based on the 361 dwellings per annum requirement, 2,888 dwellings should have been completed by March 2019. However, there were 2,463 completions achieved during this period, resulting in a shortfall of 425 dwellings on the requirement. The 2018 Housing Delivery Test showed that Harlow delivered 84% of the necessary dwellings, triggering a 20% buffer. In future, a Delivery Test figure of 85% or more will only trigger a 5% buffer. See Appendix 1 for the current calculation.
7.28 National planning policies require a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites on adoption of the Local Plan and subsequently. To ensure that a five-year supply is achieved, a stepped requirement is proposed for the Local Plan period. The need for a stepped requirement arises because a significant number of homes will be delivered on large residential sites at Newhall, the Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow and at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. These will be delivered in the later part of the Local Plan period.
7.29 As Harlow is a former New Town with tightly-drawn boundaries and a planned nature, with distinctive Green Wedges which are uniquely important to the district’s distinctive green character, there is less scope to deliver housing sites at an early date to fulfil a five-year housing land supply as may be the case in a large district. A requirement of 361 dwellings per annum has, therefore, been identified for the period of 2011/12 to 2023/24.
7.30 Using this figure to calculate under-supply from previous years and applying a 20% buffer will deliver an initial six-year supply of deliverable dwellings to comply with national planning policies. From 2024/25 to the end of the Local Plan period, an increased requirement of 501 dwellings per annum has been set to meet the 9,200 dwelling requirement overall (see Appendices 1 and 2 for the supply calculation and anticipated trajectory).
7.31 In addition to the need to identify deliverable sites, national planning policies also require the Council to identify a supply of specific developable sites or broad locations for growth for years 6 to 10 of the Local Plan period and, if possible, years 11 to 15. The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow allocated for 2,600 dwellings in Policy HS3 and the housing sites allocated in Policy HS2 meet the national planning policy requirements for the first five years and the later year periods.
7.32 There have been 2,463 dwelling completions since the start of the Local Plan period (1 April 2011). There is planning permission for 4,723 dwellings (as at 31 March 2019) which contributes to the housing supply. The Local Plan is, therefore, required to allocate at least 2,014 dwellings. The housing trajectory (see Appendices 1 and 2) illustrates the expected rate of housing delivery for the Local Plan period.
Windfall Sites
7.33 National planning policies state that authorities may make an allowance for windfall sites in the five year supply if there is compelling evidence that such sites have consistently become available and will continue to provide a reliable source of supply.
7.34 Windfall sites are generally sites which are either below the Call for Sites14 threshold of six dwellings in the SHLAA, or are larger sites which have not been allocated in the Local Plan. Windfall sites can provide a number of additional unexpected dwellings and can be a useful addition to the housing mix in the district in terms of tenure, price and design.
7.35 Whilst there has been a steady supply of windfall sites, their contribution to the housing supply has not been significant. The New Town legacy of Harlow means the district has been carefully planned from the outset; consequently there are very few opportunities for windfall sites. It is considered that the windfall supply in Harlow would not meet the national criteria and consequently has not been included as a reliable source of supply in the five year supply calculations.
7.36 Change of use from office to residential by Prior Notification has produced additional housing in the district, although this source of new dwellings should not be considered as windfall as the status may change during the Local Plan period. Evidence shows that the district should retain employment sites which will be required as Harlow’s growth aspirations are realised.
HS2 Housing Allocations
In addition to the Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow (Policy HS3), to meet the housing requirement of 9,200* dwellings during the Local Plan period, the following sites are allocated.
| REF. | LOCATION | DWELLING |
| 1 | Princess Alexandra Hospital |
550 |
| 2 | The Stow Service Bays |
70 |
| 3 | Staple Tye Mews, Staple Tye Depot and The Gateway Nursery |
30 |
| 4 | Riddings Lane |
35 |
| 5 | The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Tawneys Road |
35 |
| 6 | Pollard Hatch plus garages and adjacent land |
20 |
| 7 | Coppice Hatch and garages |
16 |
| 8 | Sherards House |
15 |
| 9 | Elm Hatch and public house |
13 |
| 10 | Fishers Hatch |
10 |
| 11 | Slacksbury Hatch and associated garages |
10 |
| 12 | Garage blocks adjacent to Nicholls Tower |
10 |
| 13 | Stewards Farm |
10 |
| 14 | Pypers Hatch | 10 |
| Total Dwellings Allocated | 834 |
*Dwelling numbers are indicative and sites will be subject to detailed planning to establish their final capacity.
7.37 The Local Plan has identified a dwelling requirement of 9,200 during the Local Plan period. There have been 2,463 dwellings completed during the period of 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2019 and an additional 4,723 dwellings have planning permission. This leaves a residual requirement of 2,014 dwellings to be provided.
7.38 The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow (forming part one of the four new Garden Communities in the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town) will provide 2,600 dwellings in Harlow during the Local Plan period, and the sites allocated in Policy HS2 for 834 dwellings provide a total of 3,434 dwellings. This is 1,420 dwellings more than the residual requirement of 2,014. This overage provides an element of flexibility should some sites not come forward or their capacity is less than expected.
7.39 An Area Action Plan will be prepared for Harlow Town Centre (HTCAAP). The town centre boundary is shown on the Policies Map, reference RS2-1. The HTCAAP will identify additional dwellings as part of mixed use proposals. These additional dwellings will give increased flexibility to the district’s housing land supply.
7.40 The Council will work closely with the developers of the allocated sites to encourage sites being brought forward in a timely fashion and in accordance with the Local Plan policies.
HS3 Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow
A Strategic Housing Site for 2,600 dwellings and associated infrastructure is allocated on land to the east of Harlow. The site forms part of one of the new Garden Communities in the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town.
Developers must produce a Strategic Master Plan in general conformity with the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Design Guide and in partnership with the Council and other stakeholders, such as Epping Forest District Council, East Hertfordshire District Council, the local community, infrastructure providers and statutory bodies.
The development must:
Infrastructure, including social infrastructure, must be delivered at a pace which meets the needs of the proposed development throughout the construction of the site.
Any application for development on the site in the form of individual or part/phased development should be in general conformity with a Strategic Master Plan which has been endorsed by the Council as well as the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Design Guide.
Developers will be expected to make a fair and reasonable contribution to the strategic highway and other infrastructure requirements set out in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
7.41 The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow was identified as part of a joint study (the Harlow Strategic Sites Assessment, 2016) with the HMA districts. The site forms part of one of the four new Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Communities, and provides the opportunity to deliver regeneration objectives whilst also addressing housing needs.
7.42 The four Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Communities are:
7.43 The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow has a potential capacity for around 2,600 dwellings, built during the Local Plan period, and would include the infrastructure necessary to support this number of dwellings, such as schools, shops and open spaces.
7.44 The joint study evaluated potential sites around Harlow and included this site within the district. The study provides a robust evidence base, which is consistent in its approach to all the potential sites.
7.45 The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow is fundamental to the delivery of the Local Plan and for delivering the vision for Harlow. Without this site, there would be insufficient developable land in Harlow to deliver the required level of growth to meet housing needs and the regeneration of the district.
7.46 The scale and nature of the site means that a number of infrastructure and statutory requirements should be met on the site for the benefit of residents, and off-site to mitigate the impacts of the development.
7.47 Given the importance and scale of the Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow in delivering the Garden Town Communities, development proposals will be required to accord with Policy HGT1.
7.48 As a former New Town, Harlow has been carefully planned from the outset, so that most land has a recognised function, for example the Green Wedges, housing and employment areas. As required by national planning policies, the Council has undertaken a Strategic Land Availability Assessment to identify developable sites that are suitable and achievable. This has informed the identification of sites in Policy HS2 for housing development. These sites alone do not meet the district’s housing requirements, or leave an allowance for sites which may not come forward in the Local Plan period. The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow has therefore been identified which will provide a significant number of new homes over the Local Plan period and will meet the district’s housing needs.
7.49 Developers will be required to produce a Strategic Master Plan in general conformity with the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Design Guide and in partnership with the Council and other stakeholders, such as Epping Forest District Council, East Hertfordshire District Council, the local community, infrastructure providers and statutory bodies.
7.50 The Strategic Housing Site East of Harlow forms part of a wider Garden Town Community, the northern part of which has been proposed for allocation in the emerging Epping Forest District Local Plan for 750 dwellings, which will be subject to the preparation of a Strategic Master Plan. With regards to part e(ii) of Policy HS3, if the Strategic Master Plan indicates that the secondary school is not required within the Harlow district part of the site, then consideration will be given to appropriate alternative development and associated infrastructure having regard to the policies in the Local Plan, and the balance of uses within the Strategic Site as a whole.
HS4 Gypsies and Travellers
To fulfil the need for nine pitches for the Travelling Community in Harlow, 12 pitches at Fern Hill Lane site will be restored.
Applications for additional pitches over the remainder of the Local Plan period will be assessed for suitability using criteria in Policy H10.7.51 National planning policy for traveller sites15 requires Councils to identify and annually update a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of sites against locally agreed targets. In addition a supply of developable sites for years 6 to 10 of the Local Plan period and, if possible, years 11 to 15, should be identified.
7.52 An assessment of needs for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople across Essex for individual districts was updated16 to take into account the national policy for traveller sites, including specifically a revised definition of a traveller. The key change that was made in this legislation was the removal of the term “persons…who have ceased to travel permanently”, meaning that those who have ceased to travel permanently will not now fall under the planning definition of a traveller for the purposes of assessing accommodation need. Consequently their housing requirements could be included as part of the general Objectively Assessed Housing Need (OAHN) and not as a pitch requirement.
7.53 Harlow has two existing traveller sites, owned and maintained by Essex County Council: one at Elizabeth Way which contains 21 pitches and is fully occupied; and one at Fern Hill Lane which, at full capacity, could accommodate 25 pitches. Only 15 pitches are currently in use at the Fern Hill Lane site and Harlow Council has agreed to jointly fund the refurbishment of 12 of those pitches with Essex County Council.
7.54 The updated assessment for Gypsy and Traveller needs, 2016 to 2033, indicated that there were no households identified as travellers, as defined by the revised national policy. The potential future needs have to be established for both non-travelling households and those whose status has not been possible to identify (unknowns).
7.55 It is projected that seven additional pitches are required to meet the future pitch needs of non-travelling households. Where it has not been possible to establish the status of ‘unknown’ traveller households, there has been a further projected requirement of two pitches. Consequently there is a future need of nine pitches in the district for the remainder of the Local Plan period.
7.56 There is no identified requirement to meet the needs of non-travelling households in Harlow during the remainder of the Local Plan period. However, it is considered that provision should be addressed though additional traveller pitches for both the emerging ‘unknown’ households and non-travelling households, because it is likely that these households would require appropriate housing.
7.57 At Fern Hill Lane, an additional 12 pitches are being provided. As 9 pitches are required to meet Gypsy and Traveller need, the Local Plan requirement has been met. There are three additional pitches to meet provision beyond the Local Plan period.
7.58 The Council will continue to review the requirement for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation during the Local Plan period. Any planning applications for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation will be assessed using Policy H10.
12 National planning policies state that to be considered deliverable, sites should be available now, offer a suitable location for development and be achievable with a realistic prospect that housing will be delivered on-site within five years and in particular that the development is viable. Sites with planning permission should be considered deliverable until permission expires, unless there is clear evidence that schemes will not be implemented within five years, for example they will not be viable, there is no longer a demand for the type of units or sites have long-term phasing plans.
13 The responsibility for the delivery of housing lies with housebuilders and not the Council.
14 The Call for Sites is an invitation to developers to submit sites for assessment in the SHLAA.
15MHCLG, August 2015. Planning policy for traveller sites.
16Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople Accommodation Assessment.
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