PIRTON PARISH COUNCIL
An Extraordinary Meeting was held on Thursday 16 October 2003 at
Pirton Village Hall.
Present: Mr Michael Goddard (arrived late), Mrs Rosie Hamilton McLeod,
Mrs Margaret Johnson, Mr Steven Kitchiner, Mr Owain Lister, Mr David Saunders,
Mrs Pam Waters and Mrs Diane Bailey (Clerk).
Apologies for Absence: Mr Jonathan Bhowmick and Mr Ed Cree.
Guests: Mr Duncan
Adams, Rural Housing Advisor, Community Development Agency and Mr Graeme
Haerle, NHDC Planning Officer.
Also Present: 3 representatives from Court Homes and 6 parishioners.
The Extraordinary Meeting had been called to enable councillors to discuss
various planning issues in more depth than is allowed at the normal monthly
Council meetings.
Mr Lister, Chairman, welcomed guests to the meeting and gave a brief summary
of the aims of the meeting. The Agenda set out three areas of discussion:-
1. Pirton Housing Needs Survey.
2. Clarification of the recent Urban Capacity Study and
possible response.
3. Dealing with approaches from agents and developers.
Mr Lister stated that planning was the most controversial issue for the
Parish Council to deal with. The Council takes planning issues very seriously
and prides itself on responding to all planning applications relating to the
village. The Village Appraisal carried out in 1999 had shown that parishioners
were clearly opposed to any major development in the village. However, the
Housing Needs Survey in March 2002 had shown a small but identifiable need for
affordable housing in Pirton.
The Council had recently received a letter from the consultants working for
the West of Stevenage Consortium asking for comments on the Urban Capacity Study
which had been carried out by North Herts District Council. This study
identified three potential sites in Pirton suitable for possible housing
development.
Furthermore the Council is occasionally (but persistently) approached by
developers such as Court Homes, asking the Council to meet with them to discuss
the possibility of building in Pirton. The Council is faced with a dilemma. If
the Parish Council refuses to meet with developers then the Council’s influence
is limited. By working with developers the Council may be able to influence the
type, style and size of any development as well as obtaining some planning gain
for the benefit of the village generally.
Mr Lister explained that the meeting had been called to try to give a clear
background to these three planning issues. The meeting was intended as a
starting point to enable the Parish Council to find a way forward to deal with
these topics. Furthermore the Council was conscious that any consideration of
these planning issues should be made with the Village Appraisal and Housing
Needs Survey in mind.
Mr Lister invited the guests to introduce themselves to the meeting.
Mr Graeme Haerle introduced himself as the Area Planning Officer for
the western area of the North Herts district.
Mr Haerle explained that the Urban Capacity Study had been carried out to
identify capacity in North Herts for additional housing for two separate
consultations, one with Herts County Council and one for the Government. The
agents for the West of Stevenage Consortium had seized on this information to
justify their proposed development. The Urban Capacity Study is a public
document and is being revised before being put to the NHDC Cabinet meeting in
November.
With regard to Pirton, the Study includes potential sites in Royal Oak Lane,
High Street and Shillington Road. Mr Haerle explained that the Study should be
regarded purely as a desktop exercise containing crude statistics which have
already been revised; Royal Oak Lane figures had been revised from 15 to 3
dwellings, High Street from 11 to 4, and Shillington Road from 11 to 1.
(Mr Goddard joined the meeting.)
In February 2004 the Government will advise counties of the number of
dwellings to account for in their area’s Local Plan (soon to be restructured to
a Local Development Framework). It is inevitable that during the Local Plan
consultation, further sites will be put forward for consideration by local
developments and landowners, and with this in mind, Mr Haerle felt that
discussion of individual sites in Pirton was premature.
Mr Duncan Adams introduced himself as the Rural Housing Neighbour from
the Community Development Agency in Hertfordshire. In this role he is able to
work with Parish Councils to identify any local housing needs.
Mr Adams explained that the Pirton Housing Needs Survey carried out in March
2002 had identified a need for 12 homes. Pirton has a particularly large number
of Council houses in the village but turnover is very slow. With this in mind,
Mr Adams recommended that a small provision of 6 affordable homes should meet
the needs of villagers. This need could be met by a mixture of rented
accommodation from a Housing Association, or accommodation on a half rent/half
buy basis.
As background information, Mr Adams pointed out that the need for affordable
housing had doubled in the last five years, as income levels have not kept up
with the rise in the cost of house prices.
Mr Adams’ role enables him to work with the District and Parish Councils to
try to identify suitable sites and to liaise with Housing Associations. Mr Adams
stated that affordable housing is commonly developed on housing exception sites
where planning permission would not normally be allowed for housing development.
Mr Adams was also aware of the Parish Council’s concerns to prioritise local
lettings rather than allowing allocation from the district’s housing waiting
list. He also felt that if a local lettings policy was in place, the general
need for further housing in Pirton would be reduced.
Mr Lister asked those parishioners present if they had any concerns to bring
to the attention of the meeting. Mrs Hofton was aware of the strong feeling
against development resulting from the Village Appraisal. A family who had only
recently moved into the village had come along to listen to the debate. Mr
Jarrett was concerned that small and affordable housing for young people and the
elderly was not available in the village and regretted the number of large homes
that were currently being built. Mr Johnson echoed Mr Jarrett’s comments. Mr
Robin Hayhurst, Mrs Julie Writer and Mr Vic Harvey from Court Homes were
interested in the Council’s views on liaising with prospective developers.
Mr Lister confirmed that the Parish Council shared these concerns and stated
that the Council faced a difficult task in resolving its dilemma with regard to
these issues. He also confirmed that even amongst councillors there was a
mixture of opinion.
Housing Needs Survey
The results of the Housing Needs Survey showed a perceived need for a small
number of affordable houses. Young people particularly had shown a desire to
remain in the village but were prevented from doing so because of the lack of
small affordable homes.
Mrs Hofton enquired of the location of any proposed development of affordable
homes. The Parish Council stressed that as yet no site had been identified nor
any work commissioned into taking this project further.
Mr Haerle pointed out that PPG3 allows the District Council to earmark sites
for 100% affordable homes. The current District Local Plan (No 2 with
alterations) is now considered to be out of date but since the draft Local Plan
No 3 was withdrawn, the Plan No 2 remains as the guidance used in assessing all
current planning proposals. Current planning requires that in settlements of
less than 3000, developments of 15 or more dwellings must have a proportion of
affordable homes.
Mr Adams clarified the meaning of exception sites. These sites are usually
found outside of the village policy boundary since within the policy boundary
land is classed as residential and will therefore be expensive, whereas land
outside the boundary is normally agricultural land and therefore cheaper.
Consequently to enable the provision of low cost affordable homes, any proposed
building would normally take place on cheaper land. Mr Haerle confirmed that the
development of affordable homes on an exception site outside of the village
boundary would not weaken the boundary in terms of opening the way for further
development.
Mr Adams suggested that a site for affordable housing may not be identified
and that sometimes affordable homes can only be provided on the back of a larger
housing development proposal.
In answer to questions raised by Mr Goddard, Mr Adams confirmed that housing
association homes could be kept in perpetuity for rent or half rent/half buy
opportunities. Mr Goddard suggested that the shortage in the low cost rental
market had been aggravated by the sale of former council houses. Mr Adams also
confirmed that a local lettings policy could be put in place so that Pirton
residents would be offered homes in Pirton ahead of others on the housing
register. However, should no-one in Pirton be on the waiting list at the time of
a vacancy, then lettings would be considered from residents of nearby villages
such as Holwell and Ickleford.
With regard to the way forward, Mr Adams suggested that the next step would
be for the Parish Council to formally request that a potential site be
investigated. In reply to a question about financing such a project, Mr Adams
stated that locating a suitable site was usually the main difficulty and that
funding should not be a problem.
Urban Capacity Study
Mr Saunders asked how the Urban Capacity Study had been drawn up. Mr Haerle
suggested that sites may have been identified from Ordnance Survey maps,
discussions with planners, or from visits to the area. Mr Saunders queried
whether the identification of these potential sites strengthened their case for
development. Mr Haerle confirmed that the mechanism for development of any site
remained identical. A proposal needs to be submitted and assessed against
policies in the Local Plan.
Changes to the policies can only be carried out through the Local Plan review
consultation process. The next Local Plan review is due at the end of 2004. By
this time legislation for the replacement of the Local Plan with a Local
Development Framework will be in place.
Before discussing the third item on the Agenda, Mr Lister asked if there were
any further comments. Mrs Hofton felt that maintaining the strength of the
village boundary as a defence against large scale development was vital. Mrs
Johnson was keen to provide sheltered accommodation for the elderly. Mr Saunders
asked how the provision of affordable housing could be progressed and Mr Adams
replied that the Housing Needs Survey and information from the NHDC Housing Dept
would help to establish the number of units needed and a detailed study of the
village might identify a possible site. Mr Adams also stressed that even if the
Parish Council gave the go ahead to start the process of providing affordable
accommodation in the village, the Council could change its mind at any time in
the process if circumstances changed. Any such development would require the
Parish Council’s support throughout the whole process. Mr Haerle confirmed once
again that development of affordable housing on an exception site outside the
village boundary, would neither weaken nor change the boundary in terms of
opening the way for further development.
Approaches from agents and developers
Mr Lister explained the conflict facing the Parish Council in considering
approaches from developers. If the Council agrees to meet with developers, it
will be perceived that the Council is going against the wishes of the villagers
regarding development as set out in the Village Appraisal. If the Council
ignores these approaches, it can be accused of losing an opportunity to
influence development and any potential planning gain to benefit the village.
Mr Lister was of the opinion that the Parish Council has very limited
influence in the planning process anyway and there was a general feeling that
housing could be imposed on the villages of North Herts to meet the housing
quotas set out by the Government.
Mr Jarrett asked how often approaches were made by developers and the size of
development being suggested. Mr Lister replied that approaches, especially from
Court Homes, were persistent rather than frequent. The Parish Council had
received no detailed proposals from any party but were consistently asked to
enter into discussions on potential future development. To date the Council had
refused to meet with developers.
Mr Lister asked the representatives from Court Homes to put forward their
views to the meeting. Mr Robin Hayhurst felt that it was more beneficial to all
concerned for small developers to approach Parish Councils to enter into
dialogue rather than being bombastic and going ahead with proposals without
consultation. Mr Lister asked Court Homes for information regarding the number
of houses proposed for the land at Priors Hill and the reply was that a
potential number of 150 new houses could be accommodated. Mr Hayhurst suggested
that a new site would release the pressure on infill development. This was
queried by Mr Jarrett and stated as being unproven by Mr Haerle. Mr Haerle
further stated that even if the Parish Council approved development outside the
village boundary, the policies in the Local Plan could not be overruled.
Mrs Hamilton McLeod underlined the conflict facing the Parish Council in
balancing the view of parishioners with regard to development against the need
for affordable homes which had been identified through the Housing Needs Survey.
Mr Johnson suggested that any brownfield sites should be identified as the
first option for any potential future development.
Mr Hayhurst reminded the Council that there was much to be gained by working
together in terms of benefits to the village under Section 106 agreements.
Mr Haerle suggested that the Parish Council might find it useful to contact
Andy Beavan of NHDC’s planning policy department to ascertain the timetable of
consultation leading to the completion of the new Local Development Framework.
Mr Lister suggested this be placed on the Agenda for early in the New Year.
Mr Lister thanked everyone for attending the meeting and taking part in the
discussions. Mr Jarrett thanked the Parish Council for seeking the views of
parishioners.
Pirton