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Policy H1

New Housing Development in the Borough 1996-2004

The Local Plan will provide sufficient opportunities for the development of about 1800 new dwellings in the Borough over the period 1996 - 2006.

STRUCTURE PLAN REQUIREMENTS

3.39 - This policy is based on the Shropshire County Structure Plan Policy 2/47 which sets out how much new housing development each District Council should accommodate during the 17 year Structure Plan period, 1989 - 2006. The figure for Oswestry is 3300 new dwellings, and this is supported by the Borough Council as being an appropriate and achievable allocation for the Borough. The Borough Local Plan covers a 10 year period 1996 - 2006.   However, in order to ensure that the figures in the Local Plan are as up-to-date as possible, housing completions for 1989 - 1996 (1487 dwellings) have been subtracted from the Structure Plan figure. This leaves a net figure of just over 1800 dwellings required between 1996 and 2006, as shown in Table 3.1 below.

3.40 - This represents just over 180 dwellings per year on average. However, the Structure Plan does indicate that the period 1989 - 2001 will see a greater demand for development than in the later years 2001-2006, so house building rates are anticipated to be higher in the first eight years of the plan period.

UNIDENTIFIED OR 'WINDFALL' SITES

3.41 - Not all sites which might prove suitable for housing development are actually allocated in the Local Plan. These sites are generally referred to as 'windfall' sites.

3.42 - Within the development boundaries of settlements, a number of sites of varying sizes may come forward from redevelopment of land, infill sites, conversion or change of use of buildings. This may result from changing circumstances - such as factory closure or relocation - which cannot be predicted in advance.

3.43 - Although the Borough Council cannot predict exactly how many new dwellings will be developed on unidentified sites, an estimate has been included in the calculations in Table 3.1 below.  The figure of 35 completions per year between 1996 and 2006 has been agreed between the Council and the Housebuilders' Federation as being a reasonable estimate of the likely number of dwellings to be built as a result of 'windfall' development.  The figure is based on an analysis of previous windfall completions rates in the Borough provided by Shropshire County Council.  Full details are included in a separate Appendix to this document - the Technical Report on Housing Figures. The development of windfall sites is dealt with in detail in Policy H16.

3.44 - Table 3.2 below shows how the Local Plan will allow for the development of the residual figure of 1463 dwellings, required between 1996 and 2006 after allowing for 'windfall' completions.

3.45 - The Local Plan will in fact make allowance for the development of around 20% more than the residual figure of 1463 dwellings, in order to allow a degree of flexibility.  Experience shows that not all potential housing sites will become available for development during the plan period, as owners may not be willing or able to sell their land or property for housing development, or because physical or economic constraints prevent development in the short-term. 

Policy H2: Phasing of Development
Back to Section 2: General Housing Policies
Back to Local Plan 1996-2006