Core Strategy Issues & Options

Comment

Representation ID: 18777

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

The principle of â€~plan, monitor, manage’ should be central to the Core Strategy. It should plan for growth and specifically address the needs of the whole community (see PPS3 paragraphs 9 and 10). The Core Strategy should conform to the government’s ambitions to improve affordability and increase housing supply. This is particularly important in the South East.

Comment

Representation ID: 18778

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

The HBF object to the application of Lifetime Home standards through planning policy. This should be a matter progressed through the upgrading of the Building Regulations

Comment

Representation ID: 18779

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

Infrastructure is a necessary component, essential to support housing growth. The allowance of further housing development, especially a strategic development between Rother DC and Hastings BC, could be a catalyst to the delivery of infrastructure improvements, both through the appropriate and reasonable application of development contributions and through the provision of state financing for large infrastructure projects, which the HBF hope would be more readily forthcoming.

Comment

Representation ID: 18780

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

Developers should have the opportunity to meet a 10% on-site renewable policy in the most practical way possible, taking account of available technologies and site constraints.

Developers could make proportionate contributions to community based renewable energy schemes, benefiting existing and new housing. The planning authority should identify the potential opportunities in a given location for community renewable schemes.
LDF energy efficiency policies will duplicate, circumvent and potentially exceed building regulations. There is a problem of inconsistency between different authorities’ policies. A universal policy basis will encourage the market to deliver innovation. Fundamentally, this is a matter for the energy industry.

Comment

Representation ID: 18781

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

To enable a better balance of development objectives, the following should be included:
¨ To enable the delivery of a wide choice of high quality housing development, which seeks to take account of both need and market demand.
¨ To allow the timely delivery of housing development which is in step with the sub-regional housing market.
¨ To provide a flexible and responsive supply of available land with site allocations preferably over the whole period of the Plan, to provide certainty for house builders. This is now a requirement of PPS3.

Comment

Representation ID: 18782

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

Growth areas will account for only 20% of housing growth in the South East. In such circumstances, and considering the historic under supply of housing in the South East as a whole, Rother (like other Councils) should plan for the highest growth scenario as this is robust and will mean the Council is prepared for all eventualities should the South East Plan numbers be revised upwards.

Comment

Representation ID: 18783

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

The HBF support option 3 for co-ordinated development at Bexhill and on the edge of Hastings. We have given the same support for this option to Hastings fBorough Council. In accordance with Draft South East Plan recommendations, the HBF consider that greenfield development is an option which would afford the Hastings and Bexhill areas the greatest opportunities to improve service provision, education provision and transport infrastructure, improving the areas competitiveness with the rest of East Sussex and Kent.

Comment

Representation ID: 18784

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

It is appropriate and necessary to have an overall spatial vision for the rural areas. The guiding objective is to ensure the sustainability of rural communities through providing for their needs, in the form of housing provision. This is essential if communities are not to see further decline in service provision and vitality. The balance should be to focus rural housing growth in service centres, but where there is a need to act to support a struggling community, development should be allowed to take place at an appropriate scale.

Comment

Representation ID: 18785

Received: 09/02/2007

Respondent: Home Builders Federation

Options 1 and 2 are most appropriate. Both of these options contain principles, which we believe would provide the best policy outcomes in planning terms.