Bingley Neighbourhood Development Plan
10.Meeting Local Housing Needs Comment
10.1 Introduction
10.1.1 If the Vision for the Neighbourhood Plan is to be achieved, then meeting Objective 5 to promote the development of housing which meets identified local housing needs will be very important. The emerging Local Plan indicates requirement to deliver 1,000 homes over the period 2020 to 2038. There is potential for this to grow further over time. There is also the potential for speculative planning applications for housing developments in addition to planned developments.
10.1.2 Strategic policies are based on district wide understanding of housing needs and so it has become an acknowledged role for Neighbourhood Plans to provide additional local information and context for the consideration of the how housing is provided. What size dwellings? What type of affordable provision? What tenure (for sale or for rent)?
10.1.3 In order to provide robust information to support local policies on these aspects of housing provision, a Housing Needs Assessment was undertaken by AECOM for the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group, completed in January 2020. The assessment is a Supporting Document to the Neighbourhood Plan. It is noted that this work is based on 2011 Census data and that, as the first releases from the 2021 Census become available, these will be reviewed as the Neighbourhood Plan moves forward.
10.1.4 The work undertaken in the Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) is intended to ensure that in making decisions on new housing proposals, due provision is made to meet the needs of the local population whilst also meeting strategic requirements from new housing.
10.2 Key Characteristics
10.2.1 In determining a recommended housing mix, the HNA considered the existing housing provision and its suitability, having regard to demographic shifts in age and household composition, to address future, as well as current community need. This is summarised in the paragraphs below.
10.2.2 Bingley is characterised by a significantly higher proportion of detached homes and flats than the broader district. There is a relative lack of smaller housing and a relative over-provision of larger housing.
10.2.3 Bingley has an older population, being significantly lower in the 0-15, 16-24 and 25-44 age groups and significantly higher in the 45-64, 65-84 and 85+ age groups than the district and national levels as reported in the 2011 Census. Between the 2001 and 2011 Census, Bingley saw growth in all population age groups with the greatest growth in the 45-64 and 85+ groups.
10.2.4 Whilst lower than at district level, population growth in the 25-44 age group is significantly above that nationally, suggesting that Bingley is a location which remains attractive to families. About a third of households are occupied by a single person, in line with District and national averages. Within Bingley this number increased significantly between 2001 and 2011, with the main increase in the under 65 age group.
10.3 Tenure and Affordability
10.3.1 The HNA found that the great majority of households in the parish are owner-occupier but that from a low base there has been a substantial
growth in private renting, significantly higher than in the Bradford district. In contrast to a decline in shared ownership in the district as a whole, this grew in Bingley and significantly more so than the growth nationally.
10.3.2 House prices have continued to grow whilst incomes have not grown by the same proportion. A higher proportion of income is required to purchase properties based on average house prices and median income data.
10.3.3 The HNA suggests that there are substantial numbers of households who are unable to afford to rent or to buy within Bingley. It recommends that for Bingley around 65% of affordable housing delivered should be for rent tenures, with the majority of this provided as social rented accommodation because it is most affordable to those on the lowest incomes.
10.3.4 The remaining 35% of affordable housing delivered should be affordable home ownership products. The majority of this should be delivered as shared ownership as it is capable of extending home ownership to more households. However, there is significant local interest in other products and these could also widen choices available to local residents.
10.4 Type and Size
10.4.1 The HNA indicates that the housing stock in Bingley is characterised by large dwellings with high proportions of properties with three to six bedrooms. Whilst broadly reflective of the properties in the district more generally, there are significant higher proportion of detached dwellings and flats in Bingley.
10.4.2 The 2011 Census data reveals that in line with District and National proportions, Bingley has a high proportion of people aged 25 to 64 (55% in Bingley compared to 51% in Bradford and 53% nationally) Bingley also has a smaller sized younger population aged 24 and under (27%), significantly lower than the District and national averages of 36% and 31% respectively.
10.4.3 In terms of the changing age structure of the Neighbourhood Plan area population, Census data shows that since 2001 the population has grown in all categories, with significant growth in the 45-64 and 85+ categories.
10.4.4 The growth of population aged 45 and over is higher in Bingley than the District. This suggests a growing and ageing population. Significant growth in the 16-24 age group could also signal a growth in newly forming households in the Neighbourhood Area.
10.4.5 With regard to housing, this could indicate that there is an insufficient supply of dwellings appropriate to young and newly forming households and that this shortfall should be addressed through new development.
10.4.6 Improving the range of homes available will also benefit the growing older population, some of whom may wish to move to more suitable accommodation in later life.
10.4.7 The collective implication of Bingley's comparatively large stock of dwellings, its recent trends towards single occupancy, older households and fewer families with dependent children indicates the need for Neighbourhood Plan policy to prioritise the provision of smaller dwellings (2 and 3 bedroom) to some extent.
10.4.8 Based solely on the needs of the local population (and acknowledging the potential for housing provision to meet needs beyond the local area), the HNA makes recommendations on house size mix in Bingley – 19.2% of dwellings in new developments should have 1 bedroom, 26.3% should have two bedrooms, 48.5% should have three bedrooms, and the remaining 6% should have at least 4 bedrooms.
10.5 Specialist Housing for Older People
10.5.1 The HNA sought to identify a local requirement tied to the plan period for the Adopted Core Strategy (to 2030) and based elements of this work on Strategic Housing Market Assessment information from 2019. There was a considerable level of potential variation in the requirement tied to actions that could be taken by Bradford Council. The range indicated under considerable caveats was between 200 and 400. In view of the uncertainty around the factors underpinning an assessment of specific needs in Bingley, it is not suggested that a specific requirement is set in the Neighbourhood Plan. The background work and assumptions are set out in assessment in the Housing Needs Assessment for ongoing review and consideration.
10.6 Newly-forming Households and First Time Buyers
10.6.1 The HNA found that, on the basis of ONS Census 2011 data, around 747 individuals aged under 35 had not formed their own household, representing around 7.2% of new households with the potential to form.
10.6.2 The identification of tenures that could meet the needs of newly forming households within new housing developments is set out in Table 7.3 of the assessment. If delivered, these would ensure that suitable and affordable housing for younger people can be provided within Bingley. The tenures split as follows:
- Home ownership 3%
- Entry-level market sales/intermediate ownership product 12%
- Social rent 18%
- Private rent 66%
10.7 Housing Policy
10.7.1 Bradford Council's Core Strategy policies HO8 and HO11 promote a good supply of affordable housing, and a balance and mix of housing types for the District. Bradford Council's Strategic Housing Market Assessment informs the implementation of these policies across different sites. The Bingley HNA complements this work with robust local evidence on housing needs. It provides a guide to the tenure and size of new housing that would best meet the needs of the local population in Bingley, based on their socio-economic profile, including their financial capacity to access new housing.
10.7.2 Policy BING6 requires that proposals for new housing should have regard to the broad requirements identified by the Bingley HNA. This is to ensure that, in the determination of planning applications for new housing, in addition to broader objectives related to the provision of new housing, proper consideration is also given to the type and form of housing that would best meet the needs of people living in Bingley
10.8 Policy References
BING6 – New Housing in Bingley Comment
Proposals for new housing should have regard to the Bingley Housing Needs Assessment which identifies the following broad housing requirements in Bingley:
1. Broad Tenure Split – Where affordable housing is provided, around 65% affordable housing should be for rent and 35% other affordable homes for sale products.
2. On-site affordable housing provision – Large housing sites (more than 15 dwellings) that deliver affordable housing should do so on site unless off-site provision or a financial contribution can be robustly justified and this would support the creation of inclusive and mixed communities.
3. Dwelling size – Proposals should demonstrate how they meet a requirement for 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom homes in Bingley with no more than 10% of dwellings on large sites (more than 15 dwellings) containing 4 or more bedrooms.
4. Homes for Younger Households – Proposals should demonstrate the affordability of proposed homes for sale and rent to younger households on average and lower quartile incomes
NPPF Paras 62-64 and 66-70, Bradford Adopted Core Strategy Policies H08 and HO11, Emerging Local Plan SP8, HO4, HO5 and HO6.
