5. Homes and Communities

The policies in this chapter set out how the Core Strategy will ensure that enough houses are built within Doncaster, of the right type and in the right place. This is essential to improving Doncaster's economy, by retaining and attracting entrepreneurs, skilled workers and graduates, and meeting the aspirations of local communities. The first policy deals with overall requirement, supply and phasing. Other policies focus on housing regeneration, ensuring the supply of affordable housing and an adequate supply of appropriate Gypsy and Traveller sites.

National policy seeks to significantly increase the overall quantity and quality of housing, including affordable housing, and to ensure that they are built in sustainable locations. Despite the 2008/9 economic recession and its continuing impact on the housing market (nationally and locally) there is a continuing growth in households and an ever increasing need to deliver more housing. Prior to the recession Doncaster was experiencing significant economic growth; insufficient housing choice and quality will inhibit Doncaster's chances of further economic growth as it emerges out of the recession. Affordability is a pressing issue exacerbated by reduced credit availability; the delivery of more affordable housing will be crucial. Because a significant proportion of UK carbon emissions derive from housing and commuting it is essential that housing growth is sustainable and dovetails with housing renewal programmes designed to enable currently less sustainable housing areas to better meet the needs of the population.

The Local Development Framework therefore needs to allocate sufficient land to meet Doncaster's housing requirement; ensure that houses are constructed and distributed so as to support sustainability objectives; ensure the delivery of better quality housing and a more diverse range of house type, tenure and affordability; and support housing renewal programmes. The Local Development Framework will support and work alongside the council's Housing Strategy to bring existing housing (council and private) up to Decent Homes standard; reduce the number of empty properties; deliver more housing and affordable housing on council-owned land and through a range of national and local housing delivery initiatives; and ensure that vulnerable people have access to suitable housing and support services so they can live independently within their communities.

National planning policy requires a sufficient quantity of houses (based on evidence of need and demand) and a flexible, responsive supply of suitable and sustainable sites to enable this to be delivered in accordance with the principles of 'Plan, Monitor and Manage'. It also requires a five year supply of deliverable housing land to be maintained at all times.

In light of recent evidence on likely household formation over the plan period (Communities and Local Government Household Formation Projection 2010) and past housing completion rates (both before and since the downturn in the housing market) the housing target of 1230 is likely to be ambitious. A housing land allocation to accommodate this level of housing is therefore likely to provide a considerable level of choice for the housing market. For this reason, once new allocations are adopted (the Proposals Map) the housing land allocation will not make an allowance for the shortfall in completions against the Regional Spatial Strategy target up to 2011 and the 5 year deliverable housing land requirement will be calculated using average completion rates over the plan period rather than the annual target. For example, if completions over the first three years of the plan period (2011-14) average 1230 then the 5 year requirement for the period 2014-2019 will be 5 multiplied by 1230 (6150); if they average 1000 or 1400 per annum then the 5 year requirement would be 5000 or 7000 respectively and so on. Any increase in the national requirement confirmed through changes to national planning policy would be calculated in the same way.

Appendix 5 contains an illustrative phasing table; it sets out existing commitments and what could come forward as new allocations in accordance with phasing policy and based on the assumptions set out; decisions will be taken as part of the Sites and Policies Development Plan Document process in respect of the precise allocation within growth ranges; Unitary Development Plan allocations to be rolled forward or de-allocated; and the proportion of permissions to be included within the allocated land supply. The greater the de-allocation of Unitary Development Plan allocations or permissions discounting, the greater will be the scale of new allocations required including urban extensions.

The Borough Strategy sets out the importance of protecting the countryside, therefore a key aspect of the Core Strategy approach is to prioritise the use of well located brownfield sites to reduce pressure on greenfield sites. However, it is important to achieve an overall pattern of growth that takes accounts of the needs of all Doncaster's communities, supports the role of the market and the priority given to economic engagement, and, deliverability issues. Therefore it will not be possible to deliver all of Doncaster's future housing on brownfield sites. However, after determining the distribution of development between towns (see Policy CS2), sites for new housing will normally be allocated with first priority to well located brownfield urban sites in that town followed by other well located urban sites and then urban extensions to that town.

The Doncaster Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment 2008 (updated 2011) identifies a greater than 15 year supply of land on deliverable and developable sites that would support the Growth and Regeneration Strategy set out in Policy CS2. These sites are not without constraints however. Many otherwise sustainable urban sites (especially in the Main Urban Area) are in flood zones 2 and 3 (but benefiting from flood defences). Releases from the Green Belt may not be necessary to deliver the proposed housing growth for the Main Urban Area or five of the six Principal Towns, although some release of land will definitely be required at Adwick/Woodlands (see Policies CS2: Growth and Regeneration Strategy and CS3: Countryside).

The Strategic Housing Market Assessment for Doncaster published 2008 (before the recession) confirmed Doncaster borough as a single housing market. It predicted high levels of economic and housing growth and stated that despite areas of market weakness, the housing stock did not contain a significant imbalance of types or tenures; that housing renewal activity will bring about significant improvements to the housing market; that choices over location and type will be critical in determining the extent to which new housing will compete against housing in regeneration areas and in adjacent boroughs and that phasing may be critical. It concluded that Doncaster had significant land opportunities for housing growth but its release must be appropriately managed and affordable housing needs must be met. Government guidance is that Strategic Housing Market Assessments should be reviewed every 4-5 years and so whilst the existing 2008 Strategic Housing Market Assessment is within date a new Strategic Housing Market Assessment is in preparation and is expected to be published 2011/12. The Communities and Local Government 2010 household projections, which will form part of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment evidence base, projects a household growth for Doncaster of 14,000 households 2008 to 2026 or 778 per annum although this is 'policy-off' (i.e. does not take into account any policy interventions that may increase or decrease the formation rate).

Specific sites will be allocated to provide for a net additional 18,450 homes, however, this figure is not a ceiling to housing development due to the considerations set out below. For this reason and because the plan does not need to allocate more than 10 years' supply of land, and because the regional plan period extends only to 2026, it is not proposed to specifically allocate sites to meet the housing requirement for the final two years of the plan (2027/2028).

• In accordance with Government guidance windfall sites (sites that are not allocated for new homes) will be an additional supply. Windfalls comprised 72% of all housing completions 2004-2010 and are likely therefore to provide significant flexibility to accommodate the requirement (at an estimated average of 200 per annum, or 3400 over a 17 year plan period).
• Extant planning permissions on smaller sites (9 or less units) across the borough are unlikely to form site allocations and so would be provide an additional supply to the allocated sites (such sites had a capacity of approximately 900 as at 31/3/2011).
• There are some extant planning permission on sites of 10 or more units that may not be counted towards the allocation because they do not accord with the Core Strategy distribution (such sites have a capacity of approximately 1100 units if Hayfield Green is included).
• It is also proposed to reduce the estimated delivery on some sites with permission that will be allocated to take account of likely reduced density and viability issues (this may equate to approximately 1000 units in total).
• There are other urban sites recognised by Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment as having potential for housing and large enough to be allocations but where doubts about delivery are too great for them to be sensibly included as an allocation (but which may be washed over by Residential Policy Area).

Housing allocations will be selected in accordance with Policy CS2, the priority afforded to well located brownfield and other well located urban sites, and in accordance with the findings of Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment and the Housing Options: Site Selection Methodology (2005) which will be amended in response to consultation and reissued as part of developing the Proposals Map. To achieve regeneration objectives, prioritise brownfield development where it is well located, minimise loss of countryside and take advantage of sustainable locations in urban areas it will be necessary to develop housing sites in flood zones 2 and 3 where these benefit from existing defences and flood risk can be mitigated. Priority is therefore afforded to brownfield and other well located urban sites in accordance with national and regional sustainability objectives rather than simply directing development to flood zone 1 areas in less sustainable locations as this would contribute less to sustainable development/travel patterns and increase carbon emissions. Allocations will not be made however, where existing defences and/or mitigation cannot address flood risk satisfactorily.

It is not proposed to allocate housing land through this Core Strategy because the interim housing land supply can meet the interim requirement and it is important that the relative sustainability merits of alternative sites (particularly greenfield urban extensions) can be assessed in detail through the process of developing the Proposals Map (developed as part of subsequent Development Plan Documents). The interim requirement refers to the period up to the adoption of new site allocations (the Proposals Map). The interim housing land supply means a 5 year deliverable land supply addressing this period and comprising 5 times the target of 1230, and any shortfall against this target annualised over the remainder of the plan period. As at 31/3/2011 there were 432 sites with planning permission for housing with a total capacity of 7,758 dwellings. These comprised:

• 360 sites of 1-9 units and a total capacity of 893;
• 56 sites 0f 10-99 units and a total capacity of 1602; and
• 16 sites of 100+ units and a total capacity of 5,263.

In addition there were approvals subject to legal agreements on three significant sites with a combined capacity of 3,150

The release of allocations will be managed to support sustainable settlement strategy, housing renewal, infrastructure provision and other Core Strategy objectives and to maintain five year supply. Sites with permission, housing renewal sites and Phase 1 sites will together provide for potentially far more than the first five years' requirement even though it is likely that completions will take some years to match the requirement; it is important that the housing land supply does not constrain housing growth. The overall scale of the Phase 2 and 3 allocations will be accordingly smaller. Some Phase 2/3 allocations may need to be brought forward (through the monitoring of the Local Development Framework) to maintain five year supply if some earlier Phase allocations cannot be delivered. In addition, and in recognition of the need to go further to support the housing market in difficult economic conditions, flexibility is provided to allow Phase 2/3 sites to come forward sooner where such proposals are part of a package approach that would also assist in the delivery of one or more urban brownfield housing or mixed-use allocations. This can comprise support for enabling development such as infrastructure or community benefits to assist delivery of brownfield sites or a proposal that would deliver one or more brownfield sites (as appropriate) alongside the development of a Phase 2/3 site.

There are a number of unused Unitary Development Plan housing allocations (urban and urban extension sites) in sustainable locations that support the Growth and Regeneration Strategy and do not require land in what is currently Green Belt or Countryside Policy Area (the latter to become Countryside Protection Policy Area – see Policy CS3). These unused allocations are required as part of the interim supply and many may be developed or have planning permission before new site allocations are adopted. Some lie within flood zones 2/3 and will require sequential testing through planning applications. Some existing allocations are likely to be de-allocated because flood risk or other issues cannot be satisfactorily resolved. Remaining Unitary Development Plan allocations without permission (and excluding those with planning permission subject to the signing of a legal agreement) have a total capacity of 3,333, comprising:

• 35 greenfield sites with a capacity of 2,954; and
• 12 brownfield sites with a capacity of 379.

Housing land release at the Potential Growth Towns will be tied to the necessary conditions for this growth set out in Policy CS2. In the Renewal Towns any new urban extensions (beyond Unitary Development Plan allocations) will be assigned to Phase 3 in accordance with this policy so as not to undermine renewal and to prioritise more sustainable sites elsewhere.

National policy emphasises: sustainability and good design; urban regeneration, including locating new housing in existing centres accessible to jobs, public transport, key services and infrastructure; minimising the need to travel; and using land efficiently through appropriate densities, mixed-use and prioritising brownfield sites. The national brownfield target is 60%. A sequential risk-based approach to considering development in flood risk areas should be used but flood risk should be considered alongside other spatial planning issues.

The Doncaster Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment 2008 (updated 2009 and again in 2011) identifies a large amount of brownfield urban land particularly in the Main Urban Area that is developable in the plan period. A significant proportion of this is within flood zones 2 or 3 but much of it benefits from existing flood defences. The Employment Land Review 2009 has identified some sites that are potentially surplus and which could be redeveloped for housing or mixed employment/housing. Major council-owned sites that are being delivered as major mixed-use regeneration sites include Waterdale Civic and Cultural Quarter, Doncaster Waterfront, and Doncaster Lakeside. Across the borough a larger number of smaller council-owned sites are being brought forward for housing through the council's initiatives to deliver increased affordable housing numbers.

Mexborough, Conisbrough, Denaby, and Edlington lie within the South Yorkshire Pathfinder Housing Market Renewal Scheme. Doncaster, Barnsley and Wakefield Councils are delivering the Green Corridor Housing Renewal initiative which includes Adwick/Woodlands, Askern, and Carcroft/Skellow. The council (and St Leger Homes) has identified a number of other priorities for housing renewal where the existing stock is considered to be unsustainable or likely to become so in five to ten years and is currently progressing renewal schemes at Six Streets (Hyde Park), Thorne and Stainforth.

There are strong associations between poor housing and low incomes, crime, educational underachievement and ill health. Doncaster's housing renewal areas have great potential to better meet the needs of the population since demand is considered to be potentially healthy and constrained only by poor quality stock; provided the necessary groundwork is carried out properly, e.g. dealing with empty properties, poor environment, community safety and infrastructure. Housing renewal programmes will deliver improvements in quality and choice and assist regeneration and so it is important therefore that they are properly integrated with growth plans so that local oversupply or the wrong mix of house tenure and type is avoided. Housing renewal programmes will deliver significant refurbishment and replacement over the next few years. Renewal sites are brownfield sites even if temporarily greened over and are not phased so that redevelopment proposals can be expedited.

The council is committed to maximising the brownfield rate subject to meeting overall housing requirement and sustainability objectives. This was reflected in the council's greenfield moratorium (2002-2008) that increased the brownfield rate from 44% to 97% whilst maintaining completions above the previous regional requirement. Consequently there is now significant capacity on greenfield Unitary Development Plan allocations to address the interim period and (where still suitable) contribute to plan period supply. The Growth and Regeneration Strategy affords priority to brownfield urban sites in terms of allocation and phasing; a local brownfield target will be developed through subsequent documents (developed either alongside the Proposals Map or as a Supplementary Planning Document) in light of the approved Core Strategy, any amended housing requirement and in the context of the site allocations selection process. It is estimated that the brownfield/greenfield split in the allocated land supply to meet the 18,450 target will be around 50/50.

Mixed-use developments can support sustainable linkages between different uses, create more vibrant places and more efficient use of land. A successful regeneration of Doncaster town centre will almost certainly require the development of its key sites for a mixture of urban living opportunities and commercial uses. Some older urban employment sites are under pressure for housing redevelopment but mixed-use redevelopment securing existing, or creating new, employment opportunities alongside new housing can be a more sustainable solution. Working from home or from small-scale business premises within residential areas is likely to be increasingly significant over the plan period and will be supported through policies in subsequent documents (developed either alongside the Proposals Map or as a Supplementary Planning Document)

National policy seeks to 'create sustainable, inclusive, mixed communities in all areas' and 'to achieve a wide choice of high quality homes, both affordable and market housing to address the requirements of the community'. Mixed communities require a variety of housing in terms of tenure, price and size. Market housing should include low cost market housing. Quality affordable housing should be provided for people who are unable to access or afford market housing. Plan-wide targets for affordable housing should reflect an assessment of the likely economic viability of land for housing locally.

Doncaster's 2008 Strategic Housing Market Assessment states that despite areas of market weakness, the housing stock does not contain a significant imbalance of types or tenures; the majority are semi-detached but there is also a sizeable stock of terraced houses whilst detached houses and flats are under-represented. Around 70% of households are owner-occupiers and 21% are social-rented. The private rented sector is relatively undeveloped (6.6% of households compared to the regional average of 9.1%).

Aspirations are generally traditional with strong preferences for two and three bedroom houses and bungalows and aspirations towards flats/apartments particularly two bedroom. The need for more 'executive housing' to support the borough's economic aspirations is also important, and Doncaster's ageing population is likely to be reflected in the type of properties being sought. As priorities will almost certainly vary over the life of the plan, developers will be expected to respond to these changes identified through reviews of the SHMA (a 2011 update is being prepared).

Doncaster's Local Housing Assessment 2007 identified the need for 224 affordable houses each year to 2012 (equating to 26% of the then draft regional housing requirement) of which approximately 74% should be social rented and 26% intermediate. The main need is for smaller houses (and there is more recent evidence post credit crunch that this may include 1 bedroom flats) but there is evidence also of a need for larger three or more bedroom properties. The 2011 SHMA update will update the affordable housing requirements. The 2007 viability report (by GVA Grimley) 'Affordable Housing: Implications and Impact' considered that Doncaster's proposed affordable housing target is unlikely to render developments unviable across the borough but identified some areas of weaker demand/ lower than average land values where developers may find it difficult to agree realistic site values as private land owners hold out for optimum values.

The policy draws upon the above studies, the Government's definition of affordable housing and the national site-size threshold. Whilst the housing target has increased since the 2007 Assessment, completion rates have fallen and clearance programmes have increased need whilst some houses will be delivered on sites below the site-size threshold. Until the adoption of a replacement Strategic Housing Market Assessment in 2011/12 (incorporating new local needs assessment) the affordable housing requirement is 26% with a 74%/26% social rented/intermediate tenure split; social rented includes affordable rent. In balancing need with viability the council will continue to consider evidence of viability on a case-by-case and up-to-date basis so that affordable housing can be phased, deferred or reduced as necessary to ensure viability. The council will prepare a Supplementary Planning Document setting out the requirements from the 2011/12 Strategic Housing Market Assessment and detailing the information required in support of viability testing.

Affordable housing will generally be on-site to support mixed communities but commuted sums may sometimes be necessary and can offer greater flexibility including purchasing houses from the existing stock or re-using empty houses. Commuted sums are likely to be more appropriate in adverse housing market conditions where they can be used instead of, or alongside a reduced, on-site provision to assist viability of the housing development and deliver more affordable housing than may be possible with on-site new build. The council is supportive of other initiatives to increase the proportion of affordable housing elsewhere for example requiring affordable housing proportions above the usual requirement on council-owned sites delivered through, for example, its Developer Panel initiative; it is also actively promoting a better mix of housing types and tenures through this and its housing renewal schemes and is working with Government agencies and other partners to deliver affordable housing through a variety of national and local initiatives.

The Growth and Regeneration Strategy and current site-size threshold may result in need in some areas (notably rural areas) not being met. If viable, and backed by a new assessment, the site-size threshold may be lowered. Lack of development opportunities in villages is likely however to also require affordable housing to be provided as an exception to normal countryside restraint policies; such exceptions should therefore be supported by robust evidence of a need in that village that cannot be satisfactorily met in the nearest town and should conserve village character and countryside setting. On Green Belt sites it must be demonstrated that there are no reasonable non-Green Belt alternatives so as to demonstrate very special circumstances.

Achieving inclusion and access is an important cross-cutting activity requiring effective working across council services and other agencies and will be supported through policies for housing growth, affordable housing, housing renewal etc. Strategies are in place or being developed for vulnerable groups to maximise their access to housing and support including for homeless people, older persons, young people, people with disabilities, economic migrants, ex-offenders and black and ethnic minorities including Gypsies and Travellers. Some relatively small areas of need may be best met by specialist types of accommodation (notably for old people and students). Such provision should be commensurate with need so as not to undermine mixed-communities objectives. The provision of bespoke student accommodation to accommodate expected increases in student numbers over the plan period will help reduce the pressure on existing housing stock. Gypsies and Travellers require specialist site provision and this is addressed below.

National policy recognises that gypsies and travellers have the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens and supports their traditional travelling way of life. It requires needs assessments to be carried out to establish unmet need and requires sites to be provided to address this. Sites on the outskirts of built-up areas, in rural or semi-rural settings may be appropriate but access to services is important and sites are inappropriate in the Green Belt and should not be permitted in flood zone 3. Where unmet need is being addressed proposals that do not meet planning policies can be refused.

There are three Accommodation Needs Assessments: the 2007 South Yorkshire Gypsies and Travellers Assessment; the 2008 Doncaster update to this; and the 2008 Doncaster Travelling Show People's Assessment. These reveal that Doncaster has amongst the largest UK traveller populations, that there is significant existing provision of council-run and private sites but that there is an unmet need for Gypsy pitches and for Show people's yards. Subsequent permissions for new and extended gypsy and traveller sites and travelling show peoples' sites together with extensive work in 2010 to authorise a number of unauthorised sites have made a significant contribution to meeting unmet need.

This policy provides the basis for determining planning applications and if necessary, identifying site allocations on the Proposals Map so as to address current and future unmet need on suitable sites. The council will expand the capacity of council-run sites where possible and will continue to review its land holdings to establish whether there is surplus suitable land that could be allocated and that would deliver new pitches. Assessments of need will be kept up-to-date. Delivery issues mean that most proposals are likely to be in the countryside where residential development is generally inappropriate; for this reason unmet need should here be met through sites of 10-12 pitches so as to minimise overall environmental impact; when there is no current unmet need new sites will not normally be permitted in the Countryside Protection Policy Area but extensions to sites to accommodate family members will be considered on their merits and if necessary subject to occupancy conditions.

It is the intention to meet current unmet need as quickly as possible on suitable sites and to reduce unauthorised encampments on unsuitable sites; it is possible that current unmet need will be addressed through permissions in the interim and that new site allocations may not be necessary. To this end the council is investigating the scope for extending existing well-run sites and authorising some unauthorised developments of 10+ years' duration where these are environmentally acceptable and would contribute to meeting unmet need. The council will continue to work with both communities to identify suitable and deliverable sites and with the other three South Yorkshire authorities to address issues at a sub-regional level.