Affordable Housing Review is an indictment of Planning policy

 

Ballymena SDLP councillor Declan O’Loan says that the Affordable Housing Review is an indictment of current planning policy. (Sir John Semple has issued his “Review into Affordable Housing: Preliminary proposals and recommendations”, 14 December 2006)

 

Councillor O’Loan said, “The dramatic rise in house prices in the last year throughout Northern Ireland is the latest evidence that affordability of housing has become a major issue. It is shocking that in one area prices have risen by 50 per cent in one year. The ten towns in the UK with the highest increases were all in Northern Ireland, including Ballymena. Overall the price increase in Northern Ireland was 33 per cent. While these rises are driven by business confidence, what chance do they give young people and other first time buyers to get into the housing market? This Review is greatly needed.

 

I am pleased to see that the Review supports criticisms of the Planning Service that I have made in discussions with them about the new area plan and about the Housing Growth Indicators. The Review says clearly that the DRD should now “review again” the Housing Growth Indicators for 1998 – 2015. The HGI is the estimate of the number of houses needed and their locations, leading to critical decisions about the zoning of land.. This demand for a review comes even before the ink is dry on the DRD previous attempt when they resisted arguments from many Councils to increase their figures.

 

The Review also says that the planned housing figures at District Council level are “too restrictive” and should be used alongside local market information to determine more appropriate housing and land requirements.

 

The Review makes the stark point that “the current Area Plan System is not delivering”. Those of us who are still awaiting Area Plans to follow on from where the last plan ran out in 2001, and have seen work on it stop altogether for years at a time, are not amazed at this conclusion.

 

I am very interested in the call by the Review for “sensitive and flexible application of brownfield development”, that is the re-use of previously developed land. The Planners have virtually abolished new-build in the countryside. Not surprisingly they are now getting a large number of applications for town houses and apartments to replace single houses on large sites in towns. It is obvious that they have not got a clue how to deal with these. They have no worked out policy and have not consulted the community on their views. It is essential that they get a policy established urgently.

 

All in all this Review confirms what many of us have been thinking. We do not have a planning system that is fit for purpose in a modern European country in the 21st century.”