Planning applications for residential developments

1240/5(6808)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY J.H. YOUNG OF ST. BRELADE

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 17th APRIL 2012

Question

Will the Minister provide the Assembly with the following summarised information, in respect of Planning applications for residential developments approved during each of the years the Jersey Island Plan 2002 was in force and since the Island Plan 2011 was approved until the end of March 2012, for the re-development of properties sited in the three built up areas of the Island (defined in paragraph 6.5 of the Island Plan 2002) namely the town of St. Helier (including the contiguous urban areas of First Tower, St. Saviour and St. Clement ), the coastal strip ,and the rural and urban settlements, for each of the three areas –

1. the number of approved applications;
2. the number of residential units before and after re-development;
3. the density of development before and after re- development;
4. the total floor areas of the developments, either declared by the applicants or estimated, before and after re-development?

Answer

To answer the question as submitted requires many hours of detailed research with significant cost- implications. The following summarises the information that is presently available of direct relevance to that sought.

The Department of the Environment undertakes regular monitoring of residential development in the form of regular Residential land availability reports, last published in September 2011 covering the period 2002-2010 (see: http://www.gov.je/Government/Pages/StatesReports.aspx?ReportID=659). Work is presently ongoing to publish a new residential land availability report containing data to the end of 2011. These reports are informed by data routinely entered into and reported on from the department's application management system derived from planning applications and building completions and relate to all forms of residential development: there is no separate monitoring of proposals to redevelop existing residential sites or properties.

1. the number of approved applications;

The Department of the Environment does not routinely collect data on the number of planning applications for residential development that are approved on annual basis.

Planning permission is valid for five years and, therefore, the number of cumulative planning permissions for residential development that remain outstanding on annual basis is monitored, as is data about the number of homes that are under construction in any one year. This information is of value to a determination of housing supply that may be available at any one time. This data is published, on annual basis, by parish in residential land availability reports.

Retrospective analysis of existing data for each year back to 2002, relating to outstanding planning permission, houses under construction and completions would be required in order to derive data on the number of residential planning applications approved in each year. To provide this data just in relation to the redevelopment of existing residential properties and sites; and to provide it specifically for the town of St Helier; the coastal strip; and the rural and urban settlements would require a considerable amount of detailed research.

2. the number of residential units before and after re-development;

The residential land availability reports published by the Department of the Environment provide data on the net number of homes with planning permission at any one time on a parish basis: the reports do not set out the number of homes that are lost as a result of redevelopment as this is not material to the overall level of housing land supply at any one time.

Net change at an individual site level is undertaken to compile the overall net residential land figures. This data is sought as part of the planning application process and specifically provided for on the planning application form. The retrospective analysis of existing data for each year back to 2002 relating to housing completions would, however, require a considerable amount of detailed research.

3. the density of development before and after re- development;

Data on the density of residential development is not routinely entered into and reported on from the Department of the Environment's application management system.

The current planning application form requires information about the site area of an application site to be specified and the number of units proposed to be set out, however, this data is not captured and is only used by case officers in the assessment of individual planning applications where it is relevant to do so. Furthermore this data of itself only produces a crude estimation of density at the level of the number of dwellings per hectare: of greater value is an assessment of the potential occupancy of a residential development –related to the number of habitable rooms to be provided – which requires a far greater assessment of the house types and sizes in any residential scheme, which can usually only be determined through detailed scrutiny of drawings.

Retrospective analysis of existing data for each year back to 2002 would be required in order to derive the data sought which would require a considerable amount of detailed research with significant cost implications.

Under the auspices of the new Island Plan new density standards are to be developed and applied in relation to policy GD3: Density of development, where they will be applied to sites over 0.2hectares (1.125 vergées). In such circumstances, the Minister will be issuing supplementary planning guidance setting out minimum density targets which will need to be monitored and assessed in relation to planning applications thereon in where residential development proposals relate to sites above the stipulated threshold.

4. the total floor areas of the developments, either declared by the applicants or estimated, before and after re-development?

The Department of the Environment does not keep records on floor areas before development and

has only recently sought details of the total amount of residential floorspace to be provided, in order to calculate development fees.

The Department has estimated the total residential floor space approved for development in St

Helier, St Clement and St Saviour, since the Island Plan 2011 was adopted is approximately 34,864 square metres (period 1/7/2011 to 31/3/2012).