Island Plan (revised) 2011: site to be rezoned for Category A housing – Field 632 and part of Field 559, La Route du Manoir, St. Peter [P.13/2019]

STATES OF JERSEY

ISLAND PLAN (REVISED) 2011: SITE TO BE REZONED FOR CATEGORY A HOUSING –

FIELD 632 AND PART OF FIELD 559, LA ROUTE DU MANOIR, ST. PETER

Lodged au Greffe on 8th February 2019 by the Connétable of St. Peter

STATES GREFFE

2019  P.13

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to refer to their Act dated 17th July 2014 in which they approved the revised 2011 Island  Plan,  and to  agree  that the Minister for the  Environment be requested to bring forward, subject to the provisions of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002, a draft revision of the Island Plan such that on page 247 of Chapter 6 (Housing) at Policy H5 Affordable housing in rural centres' – after the words "Access to affordable homes provided on this site shall  be  controlled  and  managed  through  the   St. Martin 's  Housing Association",  there  should  be  inserted  bullet-point  three  and  the  words "Field 632 and part of Field 559, La Route du Manoir, St. Peter and access to the dwellings to be controlled through the Affordable Housing Gateway with priority given to those who can demonstrate close links with the Parish of St. Peter .".

CONNÉTABLE OF ST. PETER

REPORT

1. Introduction

1. Everyone has a basic human right to a decent, secure, stable and affordable home, yet Jersey faces its most desperate housing crisis in a generation, which is characterised by an acute shortage of housing, particularly social and affordable housing, lack of housing security, overcrowding, evictions and homelessness. The lack of housing supply is leading to spiralling housing costs creating an affordability problem, with too many families struggling to meet housing costs.
2. There are too many people, particularly young people who rent from the private rental sector, more at risk of rent arrears, evictions and homelessness, causing financial hardship and problems to those affected.
3. This proposition seeks to enable affordable housing development on Field 632 and part of Field 559, La Route du Manoir in St. Peter (approximately

2.05 hectares of land) under the revised 2011 Island Plan, which was adopted by the States Assembly on 17th June 2014. Andium Homes proposes to develop 65 x three-bedroom first-time buyer homes on the site, subsequent to the proposed rezoning. A site plan is attached at Appendix 1. Once developed, Andium Homes will sell all 65 homes to approved purchasers[1] using its established Homebuy scheme, where the purchaser only pays approximately 75% of the property value on acquisition, and the remainder of the property value is retained in perpetuity by Andium Homes. The actual percentage can vary to take account of relative affordability and the housing market. Subsequent sales are always at levels which ensure that the homes remain affordable in perpetuity.

4. States Members will be aware that, in March 2018, an Independent Planning Inspector conducted a Public Inquiry into a planning application for the site (PP/2017/1444), which had been submitted by Andium Homes following an extended period of consultation with Planning Officers, other States Departments, the parish and other relevant stakeholders. The Inquiry was established by the Minister for the Environment as the site, whilst directly adjacent to the built-up area of St. Peter and in the heart of the village, is located outside of the current built-up area. The application was, therefore, a departure from the policies set out in the current Island Plan, and required a Public Inquiry to be held before a decision could be made by the Minister.
5. In accordance with the Inspector's recommendation, the Minister refused to grant permission under the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002, for the following reasons –

1. The proposal would result in harm to the protected Green Zone.
2. The proposal would be contrary to the Island Plan's approach to housing.
3. The proposal would result in harm to local character and the natural environment.
   4. The proposal would result in the loss of agricultural land without sufficient justification.
   5. The proposal would be premature ahead of the completion of work to establish a detailed understanding of the Island's affordable housing needs.

7. What seems clear from the Inspector's Report is that the Inspector felt that "it would be premature to permit the proposed development ahead of work, that is already underway, aimed at providing necessary clarity in respect of the Island's  affordable  housing  needs."2 The  Inspector  was  referring  to  the Objective Assessment of Housing Needs ("OAHN") review being undertaken by consultants Arc4 on behalf of the former Minister for Housing. Arc4 were only engaged to commence work on the OAHN in January 2018, more than 3 months after the planning application was submitted.
8. I accept why the  Inspector may  have  felt that making a  decision on the application was premature at that time. However, that is no longer the case. The OAHN is now complete and was published by the Minister for Children and Housing on 24th January 2019. The parish is firmly of the opinion that there must now be sufficient justification, indeed it is overwhelming, to rezone the site for affordable housing, as the original planning application sought to achieve. This proposition therefore has the support of the Minister for Children and Housing, the Parish of St. Peter and Andium Homes, in order to seek the States Assembly's approval to amend the revised 2011 Island Plan and rezone the land under Policy H5.
9. I explain below why I believe there to be significant justification to make a departure from the revised 2011 Island Plan in this specific case.

2. Background

1. When the former Connétable of St. Peter , John Refault, stood successfully for office in 2008, it was stated clearly that he supported the principle of building more homes for young families in the parish, in order to support the vitality of the local community and viability of parish amenities. In bringing forward a planning application with Andium Homes, it was and is intended to respond to the genuine needs of our local families, and to target the large number of first- time buyer families that the evidence produced in support of the application overwhelmingly demonstrated exists.
2. In November 2014, at the nomination meeting for re-election, it was proposed that an initiative be made to deliver first-time buyer homes in the parish that would  be  affordable  in  perpetuity,  and  this  received  wide  support  from parishioners. With no sites in St. Peter allocated for social or first-time buyer housing development within the revised 2011 Island Plan, and mindful of the financial difficulty faced by young parishioners wanting to get on the housing ladder, a scheme was envisaged of shared ownership of first-time buyer homes, so that they would remain affordable' in perpetuity when they changed hands in the future.

2 Inspector's Report – PP/2017/1444 – Executive Summary, point 16

3. A Constables' Advisory Group ("CAG") was set up in January 2015, in order to study the possibilities of providing a first-time buyer affordable housing development within the parish. The CAG was a small group of parishioners appointed to discuss first-time buyer housing need, potential locations, funding methods and consultation strategy. The group evolved as the project progressed, drawing in professional advice from time to time and consulting with other agencies,  including  the  Planning  Department  and  Andium  Homes.  It  was established at the outset, and made fundamentally clear throughout the process, that the objective of the proposal was not to make a profit for the parish, but to support  parishioners  and  young  families  to  access  home  ownership  at  an affordable level.
4. It was made clear, further, from early and ongoing discussions with the Planning Department that, if an application to develop first-time buyer homes in the parish were to be successful, there would be 3 key matters that should be concentrated upon, as follows –

1. The gathering of information to prove that there existed a significant need for such housing in the parish.
2. The undertaking of a rigorous analysis of potential sites in light of the Island Plan Spatial Strategy and other relevant Planning policies.
3. The full engagement with parishioners and the securing of their support for what would become the finalised detailed proposals.

5. A comprehensive consultation process was, therefore, carried out by the CAG. An initial 120 applicants came forward to express interest in a scheme, 115 of whom demonstrated a parish connection. (The number of applicants finally reached 244,  at  which  point  the  application  list  was  closed,  with  all  the applicants being assessed through the Affordable Housing Gateway.) Despite the list having been closed for a considerable time and the scheme having been rejected,  the  parish  continues  to  receive  requests  from  further  applicants. Moreover, a number of potential development sites in the parish were appraised for their suitability. There was also a full engagement process with parishioners, who raised several concerns, such as protection of the village environment and open space. In short, all the criteria established by Planning, as set out in paragraph 2.1 above, were met.
6. A Parish Assembly was subsequently held in April 2016, where parishioners were updated on site appraisal and demonstration of demand. As a result, the Assembly overwhelmingly approved the proposal to develop Field 632 and part of Field 559. The Assembly also agreed to appoint Andium Homes – given the company's expertise in this area – to take forward the proposed development. Godel Architects were appointed by Andium Homes in December 2016 to develop a scheme design for housing on the site.
7. On 13th September 2017, a Parish Assembly was held to consider an outline scheme prepared by Andium Homes for the development of 65 x three-bedroom first-time buyer homes on the land, a scheme subsequently named Ville du Manoir'. The Assembly approved the scheme by an overwhelming majority and authorised the submission of a planning application.

8. As States Members will see, prior to the submission of the planning application, between the Connétable , the CAG, and Andium Homes, there were 3 years of extensive consultation to get to the point where we were satisfied that an appropriate and viable scheme had been developed, and that the site proposed was the most appropriate location, given the absence of any suitable area for development within the existing built-up area. As the Director of Policy at the Planning Department said in an e-mail to the former Connétable on 13th September 2017: "The emergent scheme seeks to respond to housing need, as evidenced by the diligent research and assessment that has been undertaken (which should deal with the numbers issue); and the design of the scheme responds to the need for family homes (as opposed to flats) and the rural character of the area (which should deal with the density issue).".
9. The parish wholeheartedly concurs with this view, and with the benefit of the evidence from the OAHN believes that there is significant need for this type of development within the parish. All of our evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates this to be the case. The rezoning of the land, therefore, whilst being a departure from current Island Plan policy, is sufficiently justified.

3. Evidence of need

1. The States of Jersey is committed to providing affordable and good quality homes for everyone in Jersey and, indeed, this was the aim of the former Minister for Housing's 2016 Housing Strategy. Part of the response to achieve this aim is to increase levels of home ownership amongst Islanders, and to ensure the provision of land – both on existing sites and on rezoned land – for this purpose.
2. In bringing forward the proposal for 65 x three-bedroom first-time buyer homes, I was, therefore, clear that an identified need did exist within the parish for this type of development. Working with Andium Homes and in close consultation with parishioners, we identified that 115 of the initial applicants who applied for the proposed "Ville du Manoir" scheme (from 120 applicants) had a close parish connection. (The number of applicants finally reached 244, at which point the application list was closed with all applicants being assessed through the Affordable Housing Gateway.)
3. All of the 244 applicants were then placed into Band 5 of the Affordable Housing Gateway waiting-list, as I believed it was important that applications were further assessed against the Minister for Children and Housing's own affordability criteria, which set an upper income limit of £85,000 per annum. In addition, the local context of the proposed development required specific allocations criteria to be established to ensure that the homes were targeted at those who needed them most, and supported the maintenance of the existing parish vitality. The Minister therefore agreed that in addition to the usual Gateway criteria, priority for allocation would be given to applicants with strong links to the Parish of St. Peter .
4. It was subsequently demonstrated that 124 of the 244 applicants met the Gateway's affordability criteria, and each applicant was subsequently assessed against the agreed allocations criteria. The results of the allocations criteria being applied to the applications is summarised as follows –

5. The Ville du Manoir application dealt specifically with meeting housing needs from within the Parish of St. Peter , a criticism levelled at the original planning application. This was unfair. From day 1 of the project, it has been made clear that this was a parish scheme, which was being taken forward by the parish in order  to  support  the  future  vitality  of  the  parish  for  current  and  future generations. This is the very essence of Policy H5 of the revised 2011 IslandPlan, which identifies the need to protect and support the viability and vitalityof Jersey's smaller rural settlements. It was also made clear in the application that, in the event that sufficient buyers could not be identified from those with demonstrable parish links, applications would be considered from anyone on the Gateway.
6. The scheme also received support from the former Minister for Housing, who recognised  the  significant  need  to  deliver  more  new  affordable  housing schemes, and the important role that the parishes had to play in supporting households to access home ownership at an affordable level. The Minister's office, the Strategic Housing Unit, provided support in helping to identify the wider strategic nature of housing need in Jersey, and understanding how a parish-led scheme might contribute to the aims of the 2016 Housing Strategy.
7. The Strategic Housing Unit's submission to the Public Inquiry provides strong evidence of the need for affordable first-time buyer homes at this time. In respect  of  the  need  for  affordable  housing  for  purchase,  Band 5  of  the Affordable Housing Gateway waiting-list – assigned to households wishing to purchase their own home, but requiring some form of financial assistance to do so – showed that, at 31st December 2018, 1,223 applications were registered for assisted home ownership schemes. The number of applications by stated bedroom need is set out below –

8. The projections of new affordable sale home completions up to 2020 indicate that a mere 40 new three-bedroom homes will actually be completed and sold to Gateway Band 5 applicants, and only 2 approved sites (25 units in total)[2] remain undeveloped. Andium Homes have been making sales of its existing stock to Gateway applicants for a number of years, and sold 40 homes in 2018. I understand that Andium Homes plans to sell an additional 40 existing homes this year as it replaces those homes with newly developed rental properties.

Notwithstanding  those  efforts,  overall  the  supply  of  homes  represents  a significant undersupply in affordable homes for purchase.

9. On 24th January 2019, the Minister for Children and Housing published the Arc4 Report entitled An Objective Assessment of Housing Need (OAHN) 2018'. This report looks across all tenures and assesses Jersey's housing needs between 2021 and 2030. Arc4 have opined that during that period, Jersey will need to develop a minimum of 7,010 new homes4, 3,800 of which will need to be for owner-occupiers, with a minimum of 1,100 being affordable purchase to meet Gateway Band 5 demand5.
10. These figures suggest there is urgency to deliver more first-time buyer homes, which the rezoning of this site in St. Peter and the subsequent scheme, would deliver. On this basis alone, I believe there is significant justification for making a departure from the revised 2011 Island Plan in order to meet the demand for first-time buyer homes.
11. During the Public Inquiry into PP/2017/1444, comments were put forward by the Environment Department that the number of applicants identified for the St. Peter 's scheme were "implausible", because they suggested that 26% of the three-bedroom demand for the whole Island related to the Parish of St. Peter . The parish had been asked to gather information by the Department to provide evidence that a significant need for such housing existed in the parish. We did just that and, as the Island Plan demands, we made sure these applications were assessed by the Affordable Housing Gateway.
12. The Island Plan states that there is a: "clear need for better information about the  numbers  of  affordable  homes  required  and  the  establishment  of  a comprehensive Housing Gateway mechanism will help this",6 and yet, in this case,  the  Environment  Department  disagreed  with  their  own  proposed mechanism to determine housing needs in the Island. Yes, 26% of the affordable housing demand may have been from St. Peter , but this is because the parish carried out the work required of it and determined the level of need amongst local households. Whilst St. Peter may be disproportionately represented at the present time in Band 5, I fully expect – and I know this is a position the Minister for Children and Housing agrees with – that if other parishes carried out the same work (as some are doing), then there would be much higher demand identified in other areas of the Island. With this in mind, the current Affordable Housing  Gateway  Band 5  figures  represent  a  best case  scenario,  and  a significant amount of hidden demand is still likely to exist elsewhere in the Island. Arc4 appear to recognise this in their OAHN report where they say (with my emphasis) that: "Given the high level of need for affordable housing evidenced in the demographic modelling, it is not recommended that there is further affordable housing uplift, but the scale of affordable need expressed in the modelling should be viewed as a minimum figure".7
13. The former Minister for Housing clearly recognised that there was an acute shortage in the supply of affordable homes, and a genuine need to deliver new

4 OAHN 2018 – paragraph 3.42

5 OAHN 2018 – paragraph 3.30

6 Revised 2011 Island Plan, page 251 7 OAHN 2018 – paragraph 3.36

affordable homes that cannot wait until a new Island Plan has been adopted. She wholeheartedly supported the Ville du Manoir application. I attach a copy of the letter sent by the Minister in support of the application as Appendix 2 to this report.

14. If new sites like Ville du Manoir are not approved now, there is a risk that no new development will take place until 2024/5 at the absolute earliest. We will need to go through the Island Plan consultation and approval process; the Environment Department will need to write new development briefs for any new sites; planning applications will need to be submitted and, in all likelihood, they will be subject to third party appeals, as we have seen with many recent affordable housing developments. So there is an urgent need to take action now, as a stop-gap between the old and new Island Plans.

4. Site assessment

1. As the Connétable of St. Peter , a rural parish, I fully respect the wish to retain green fields and the aspects of our environment that make Jersey a unique place. Of  course,  I  would  say  that  the  Island's  countryside  is  not  just  about agriculture – parts of Jersey's coast and countryside are considered to be of national and international importance for landscape and environmental quality, including St. Ouen 's Bay, the most significant portion of which lies in this Parish of St. Peter , and is the largest part of the Island's coastal national park.
2. I say this in order to demonstrate the parish's commitment to protecting our Island's unique rural environment. However, as Connétable , I need to balance this position with the needs of households who wish to have access to a home that  they  can  afford,  and  to  ensure  the  continued  vitality  of  the  parish community, including services such as the local primary school and community groups; indeed, this is my duty as Parish Connétable .
3. However, this will not be able to happen, and there will be a loss of the Island's only independent dairy farmer, should the funds from the sale of these fields not be available to service the scope of their wider operations. Should the business become unviable, there will not only be the loss of the green fields, but also the other businesses and employment on the farm. This, in itself, will present a risk to the vitality and vibrancy of the parish community.
4. The decision on the use of these fields for first-time buyer homes should, of course, also be judged on their particular merits. In advance of bringing forward the proposed site, the CAG carried out a robust assessment of sites around the parish village that might be suitable for such a development. This site – which is located just away from the built-up area and close to all parish amenities – was considered the most appropriate for a potential housing scheme. The Infrastructure Department has not identified any significant issues with access or traffic, and the site is accessible for the provision of essential infrastructure such as drainage, water and other utilities.
5. It is, therefore, reasonable and appropriate (given the significant demand for first-time buyer homes in St. Peter) to use this particular site for the delivery of new homes and, as far as possible, reduce the impact on the local environment, but which also meets the parish's identified housing needs.

6. Given  the  significant  demand  for  first-time  buyer  homes  that  has  been identified, I believe that the rezoning of this green field site is justified, and will support parish housing needs, the community and, indeed, the rural economy.
7. In respect of this latter point, the landowner of the fields wishes to maintain their dairy herd, but does not see the future of their farm being based solely on selling dairy products. The landowner has been working towards diversifying their business activities, and has been developing more areas of activity in terms of education and tourism as ways of contributing to the running of the farm.

5. Planning application

1. If the site is rezoned for development, a detailed planning application will subsequently need to be submitted by the applicant. In accordance with the requirements of the Island Plan, guidance will be provided in the form of a Development Brief for the site to guide and assist with its development. It is anticipated that the Development Brief can be prepared quickly, given the detailed work already carried out in collaboration with Planning Officers, and will therefore rely heavily on the application already made8, the support from the former Minister for Housing, Traffic Engineers, and the Environment Team at the Department for Growth, Housing and Environment.
2. It is noted that the present revised 2011 Island Plan requires any rezoned sites to be developed for Category A affordable homes, which a future application would satisfy. Although the Island Plan requires rezoned sites to be apportioned according to the "80/20 split" rule – i.e. 80% social rented housing and 20% affordable purchase homes – it is suggested that this rule could be relaxed by the Minister for the Environment, given the high level of demand for first-time buyer homes demonstrated by the OAHN and Band 5 of the Affordable Housing Gateway waiting-list. Indeed, there is precedent for a wholly owner-occupied housing development for parishioners, specifically Field 402, St. Martin , which was rezoned as part of the revised 2011 Island Plan. Planning approval for 20 x three-bedroom homes on the site was granted in December 2017.

6. Financial and manpower implications

6.1  There  would  be  no  financial  or  manpower  implications  arising  from  the proposition. Subject to the proposition being adopted by the Assembly, and a planning application being submitted, a Planning Obligation Agreement could be used, as appropriate, under the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002, to secure infrastructure provision and other amenities associated with the proposed development. Indeed, a draft Planning Obligation Agreement was considered as  part  of  the  planning  application  for  the  original  scheme,  and  delivers significant  benefits  such  as  drainage  reinforcement,  road  and  traffic enhancements, and a per-unit contribution to the Bus Service.

8 PP/2017/1444

APPENDIX 1

SITE PLAN FIELD 632 AND PART OF FIELD 559

APPENDIX 2

LETTER FROM THE FORMER MINISTER FOR HOUSING, SEPTEMBER 2017