In July - August 2006 we consulted with the community about the development issues and options facing the Borough over the next 20 years.  The comments that we received fed into a stakeholder workshop in January. That helped provide us with clearer directions for the options available for the Borough. We now want to ask for your views on the three overall development options that have come out of this work. This consultation is about the strategy and broad locations for future development, not individual sites. Another plan will consider specific sites once the Core Strategy is finished.

 

When reading through the questionnaire, please bear in mind that Havant Borough Council, along with every other council , faces certain constraints and is not entirely free to make locally based decisions. All councils must follow guidance and policy set by the Government. In Havant we must follow the Government’s Planning Policy Statements and the draft South East Plan. The draft South East Plan sets the amount of land that needs to be earmarked for housing and employment up to 2026. However, the draft South East Plan may be subject to change as a result of the ‘Examination in Public’ that is currently underway and levels of development may be increased or decreased. Options involving higher or lower amounts of development may therefore need to be considered.

 

This latest consultation asks for your views about three options for distributing the proposed new development including the jobs, housing, shops and tourism facilities that will be needed over the next 20 years. Each option is illustrated by a map showing the broad locations of new development outside the existing urban area and shows how the mix of new jobs, housing, shopping and tourism could be realistically grouped together. The questionnaire then asks for your views on each option.

 

There are three distinct overall options being considered but you might think that there is a better option – the questionnaire lets you suggest an alternative.

 

You may be thinking what about transport, recreation, leisure, public safety, community infrastructure and the environment? We already have some information on these headings from our previous consultations, which will be incorporated into the next plan stages.

 

However, many of the changes that we need to consider in relation to these headings will be influenced by the future direction of the Borough’s development and the funds generated by new development.  So at this consultation stage the focus is on the options for jobs, homes, shops and tourism.

 

The allocation of attractively located land for firms relocating to the Borough or for the expansion of local firms is essential for a strong, stable and productive local economy.  Once the current employment land bank is exhausted it is estimated that the Borough will need a further 5 -10 hectares (or about 7 -14 football pitches) to provide enough jobs until 2026.  The estimate is based on a 2004 Havant Industrial Property Review and an up to date analysis of past development trends. The requirement is likely to be found from greenfield releases as there are very few major sites within the urban area that would be suitable for industrial development.  However, there may be some office sites that come forward in town centres such as Market Parade and the Civic Centre area in Havant. This consultation is focussed on the options for locating about 5 - 10 hectares of greenfield land for new jobs.

 

The draft South East Plan shows a housing allocation for 6,300 dwellings in the Borough over the next 20 years.  This is a mixture of both market housing and affordable housing.  Most of these 6,300 houses will be built on sites within the urban area of the Borough.

 

Sites for about 2,000 homes already have planning permission or are allocated for housing within the adopted Local Plan.  In addition, a further 2,700 homes can be built on brownfield land and some underused or redundant green space within the urban area.  This would then leave approximately 1,600 new dwellings to be built on “urban extensions”, new housing areas next to existing built-up areas which are reasonably accessible to existing services and facilities.

 

In recent years, a mixture of house types has been built, from one and two bedroom flats to terraces and larger detached houses.  A Housing Market Assessment has been prepared for our area which shows that this approach should continue if we are to meet the future needs of the Borough.  Keeping the same mixture of house types will result in an average density of 40 dwellings per hectare on new housing developments, – our earlier consultations support this.  If we build future housing at far higher densities, this would reduce the amount of land that is needed.  However, this has to be balanced against the need to maintain the character of existing communities and make places that people want to live in.

 

This consultation is therefore focussed on the options for extending the built-up areas to make room for around 40 hectares (roughly equal to 55 new football pitches) or 1,600 new homes on greenfield sites around the Borough. This requirement is less than 2% of the land currently classified as countryside in the adopted Local Plan.  The options range from concentrating the focus for new urban extensions around Havant and Waterlooville, to seeking a broader spread of new development to all the Borough’s larger settlements.  The Core Strategy cannot identify individual sites for development, but for each option a list of possible locations is given for clarity.

 

National statistics indicate that consumer retail expenditure will continue to grow, driven by demand for large electrical goods, audiovisual and photographic equipment as well as for recreational goods and services.  This will stimulate demand for more retail floorspace. Actual growth within the Borough for expenditure on non-food goods has been estimated at £471m (at 2001 prices) between 2005 and 2026.  Food expenditure growth will be lower and most of the increase can be absorbed by existing shops.  The new non-food floorspace required as a result of this expenditure growth needs to be planned for and the options set out three different scenarios for the location of this floorspace. Whilst we know we will need more retail floorspace we will review the scale of the new space required after the opening of retail parks now under construction in Havant. We want your views on the future distribution options available in the Borough, bearing in mind that Government policy means that the first place to put new shopping is by expanding existing town centres, followed by edge-of-centre and then out-of-centre. This is known as a sequential approach.

 

 

Tourism in Havant generates over £160m per annum to the local economy, accounts for about 3,000 jobs, or 10% of the Borough’s employment and attracted 1.9 million day visitor and 350,000 overnight stays in 2004.  Significant as it is, it is less than other south coast towns and reflects the higher than average local reliance on manufacturing. Of particular tourism importance are activities related to our 48 kilometres of coastline such as marinas, sailing, traditional seaside pursuits and wildlife interests. If tourism is to continue to play an important part in the Borough’s future, consideration needs to be given to whether a new tourist attraction is promoted on the mainland or on Hayling Island and what accommodation facilities are required for the business growth, which could also be used for leisure. Additionally the Borough’s excellent transport links with the surrounding area could be attractive as a base for short break tourist packages.

 

Please follow the links below. Each option starts with an explanation, followed by a map.