Abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies

Supplementary memorandum from Ringwood Town (ARSS 09A)

The Town Council was delighted to have the opportunity to present oral evidence to the Communities and Local Government Committee’s Select Committee in relation to the Regional Spatial Strategies. It is recognised that with the Committee’s busy schedule it was not possible to allow the Town Council’s Representative, Councillor Jeremy Heron, more time to elaborate on the fundamental reasons why the Town Council believes that the Regional Spatial Strategies should be abolished and that a more ‘bottom-up’ approach be adopted that gives more powers to democratically elected units of Local Government. This view is influenced by the following:-

PREPARATION AND PUBLICATION OF A TOWN PLAN

Between 2006 and 2008 the Town Council carried out the largest full scale public consultation exercise it has ever completed in connection with the preparation of its Town Plan. Our response has been driven by the views expressed to us by the majority of residents in the town.

One of the significant outcomes of that project was that the public in Ringwood identified as a key issue the fact that there "is insufficient affordable housing in the town. First time buyers who have grown up in the town cannot afford to buy. People moving into the area for work are unable to afford houses".

Ringwood residents told the Council that it should "Encourage the allocation of additional land for housing through the Local Development Framework to enable the building of more affordable housing".

Since that time and indeed before, the Town Council has pressed the District Council, but to no avail to tackle the problem. The Town Council has identified a number of suitable sites with willing owners, but the District Council has refused to accept any – mostly on ‘need’ or Green Belt grounds. Indeed despite the unequivocal evidence to the contrary, the District Council’s Cabinet Member, responsible for Planning Strategy, reported to the Town Council in March 2010, that "to meet the requirements of the accepted Core Strategy, many more sites have been suggested (including Ringwood) than are actually needed". Clearly this decision on the need emanates from data dropped down from the Regional Special Strategy that appears to have had no regard to the actual shortage of affordable housing.

SOCIAL HOUSING

Over the past five years, only seven new units of social housing have been built by Registered Social Landlords in the Ringwood area. No new Council owned housing has been built.

The numbers on the housing waiting list are :-

696 people who have a one bedroom need

288 people who have a two bedroom need

173 people who have a three bedroom need

28 people who have a four bedroom need

2 people who have a five bedroom need

In 2010, only five, two or three bedroom houses have become available in the District Council’s housing stock for re-letting.

HOUSING WAITING LISTS

Clearly, the length of time that a person is on a waiting list will depend on their particular circumstances. In the past, it has been estimated that some applicants have had to wait up to fifteen years for a two bedroom property. The latest figures from the District Council showing a very approximate period of time that an applicant may be on the waiting list before being housed is as follows:-

2/3 bed houses are 7 to 8 years

Upper floor flats are 4 years

Ground floor flats are 5 years

2 bed bungalows are 3 years

1 bed bungalows are 2 years

HOUSING SUPPLY

As stated in the original submission, the Core Strategy, produced under the existing Regional Spatial Strategy, provides for Ringwood, a town with a population of almost 14,000 residents, being allocated a total of just over 400 properties over the 20 year period of the Strategy. This equates to a total of 20 units of accommodation for both private and public sector in each year. The clear message from residents, when the Town Plan was prepared, was that this is insufficient.

As an indicator of affordability, the Town Council has looked at data provided on the ‘Right Move’ website for the number of properties in Ringwood that have been sold in the last twelve months and the average prices obtained for such properties. The table below sets out the results.

These figures show quite clearly that the average price for the cheapest type of property within Ringwood is higher than the national average price for a family home. Indeed, the New Forest, which includes Ringwood, is now in the top ten for the least affordable places to buy homes.

Whilst the Town Council’s views are influenced by the results of the consultations carried out on the preparation of the Town Plan, it is also acutely aware of the resistance by neighbours to new developments immediately adjacent to them. The summary below that relates to Planning Applications on which the Town Council has been consulted since September 2007 for developments of two or more residential dwellings shows how in this small Market Town and shows how neighbours react to actual planning applications in their area.

PLANNING APPLICATIONS FOR TWO OR MORE RESIDENTIAL DWELLINGS SINCE 2007

*Denotes same site

It is clear that those directly affected adopt a more selfish attitude when faced with the specific application than when dealing with the wider requirements of the community. It was for this reason that the Town Council’s original submission made reference to the perceived personal loss that a building or buildings next to me equals loss of amenity and takes precedence over benefit to a local community when a specific application is submitted. To overcome this the Town Council believes that there is a fundamental need for a democratically elected body at a relatively local level to be responsible for determining the local housing needs in an area.

It is submitted that the Regional Spatial Strategy has failed to deliver the hoped for outcomes and, as stated at the Oral Hearing, there is a need for this to be replaced by arrangements that involve locally democratically elected bodies that are much closer to the communities they serve.

November 2010