Object

Representation ID: 29818

Received: 17/03/2021

Respondent: Bridge View Developments Ltd

Agent: Bradley Stankler Planning

•Submission promotes the site located off North Cliffe Lane, Thornton (TH/022) as a housing allocation.
•Submission is on behalf of housebuilders committed to the early development of the site.
•Insufficient land has been identified in the plan for housing development. The plan fails to meet the spatial planning objectives.
•The site has been submitted previously at earlier stages of the plan’s preparation.

•Allocation of land for housing must be in accordance with the plan’s Strategic Policies on the housing requirement and spatial distribution.
•Policy SP1 states the Council will take a positive and proactive approach that reflects the NPPF’s presumption in favour of sustainable development. Of relevance is the key objective that the plan will ensure sufficient land is allocated to meet the District’s housing needs.
•Policy SP2 seeks to support, protect and enhance the roles of the Principal Towns and Local Growth Centres. Achieving a sustainable pattern of growth/development across the District.
•Policy SP3 uses a settlement hierarchy to achieve sustainable patterns of growth.
•Thornton is identified as a Local Growth Centre intended to fulfil a role in accommodating significant additional growth.
•Policy SP4 sets out that sites will be allocated using a sequential approach reusing previously developed land and buildings, greenfield opportunities within settlements, local green belt releases in sustainable locations.
•Policy SP5 lists the sites to be released from the Green Belt to meet housing and employment needs. Considers that exceptional circumstances exist to justify changes. Three sites in Thornton are identified for release.
•Policy SP8 sets out the housing requirement and distributes 2875 dwellings to Local Growth Centres (575 for Thornton). 15% of homes in these settlements should be on PDL.
•In Thornton greenfield land including Green Belt will need to be allocated for 489 dwellings.


•The 10% discount on committed sites for non-implementation is an under-estimate for sites in Thornton.
•Existing sites are long-standing commitments with constraints and are unlikely to make a meaningful contribution to the housing requirement for Thornton.
•The likely contribution from commitments will be 80%, therefore the committed sites are likely to achieve 35 dwellings, not 43. Land for a further 8 dwellings will need to be allocated.


•Application of the 10% reduction for non-delivery/non-implementation on the allocated sites is unreasonable and fails to take account of individual site circumstances.
•An assessment of the draft allocations indicates that a number of the sites are constrained and the blanket 10% reduction is not supported by evidence. The number of dwellings likely to be achieved will be significantly lower.
•(see separate representations on individual sites).
•These sites should be deleted as allocations: TH2/H, TH4/H, TH5/H, TH9/H, TH10/H, TH11/H. Also the following sites are constrained and would give a reduced capacity: TH1/HC, TH6/H. On this basis the allocations would not meet the housing target for Thornton leading to a shortfall of 198 dwellings. Compensatory land for housing will need to be allocated around Thornton to meet the spatial vision and objectives of the plan.
•In total there is a shortfall of 206 dwelling (198+8) which amounts to 36% of the 575 target for Thornton.
•Site TH/022 meets the policy requirements set out in the plan and should be allocated for housing.