3 Planning Policy Implementation and Monitoring Issues

LDF Core Output Indicators

3.1 The following LDF core output indicators are for the whole of Wigan Borough from 1st  April 2006 to 31st March 2007.

Business Development

Definitions

3.2 2006/ 2007 has experienced a significant increase in the amount of Office development in the borough with the amount of floor space exceeding general Industry and Storage/ Distribution development. At  13,021 sq m there has been 46% increase in office development since last year (7,051 sq m) and a 67% increase on 2005/ 2006 (4,309 sq m). 

3.3 The majority of development is located in the borough's Primary Employment Areas in the townships of Wigan North and Wigan South. In Wigan South, Pemberton Colliery (EM1A 30) accounts for around 75% of the Office development in the borough. In Wigan north Wigan Enterprise Park in Ince (EM1A 17) had a significant amount of the borough employment development with 2,345 sq m for Office use and the same amount  for General Industry uses. The majority of development for Distribution and Storage was in Wallgate (EM1A 23) were 3,102 sq m was developed through a change of use from a car showroom.

3.4 In addition, the year has experienced a significant drop in the loss of employment land to other uses. This is compared to the 5.408 hectares of land lost during 2005/ 2006 and can be attributed to the adoption of the Supplementary Planning Document on the Reuse of Employment Land and Buildings for Non-Employment Uses in April 2006. The document  expands on the requirements ofCould not find em1bPolicy EM1B in the Replacement Unitary Development Plan.  It is anticipated there could be a potential increase in the loss of employment  in the following reporting as proposals for the change of use of these employment areas meet the policy requirements.

Housing

3.5 Since adoption of the UDP in April 2006, the affordable housing policy is being implemented on relevant applications and a Supplementary Planning Document has been prepared which includes the target of completing 106 affordable homes per year.  There have been no completions yet of affordable homes although it is expected by the time of the 2008 AMR that there will be some to report on.

3.6 The figures included at 2c are for schemes of 5 or more dwellings, in line with data for the annual RSS returns.

3.7 The housing trajectory table,  included in  Appendix 1, illustrates the housing position in Wigan at April 2007.  Information on  brownfield development is also gathered for internal Best Value Indicators which is used for  2b.

3.8 Regional Spatial Strategy for the North West (RSS) requires that the Borough makes provision for an annual average build rate of 410 dwellings per year.  This rate is net of clearance; therefore an allowance of 100 has been made to give a gross housing requirement for the Borough of 510 dwellings per year.  This figure has been used for core indicator 2a (iv).  The UDP specifies that this annual rate of provision will apply to 2016 until such time as a different rate is adopted through a review of RSS.

3.9 In relation to core indicator 2a(i) and (ii), over the past five year period a total of 4117 net additional dwellings were provided in the Borough, equating to an annual average of 823.  In the present AMR year (2006/07) the rate was 1105 net additional dwellings, this indicates an increase in overall build rates in the Borough since 2004/05 with a 48% increase from 04/05 to 05/06 and a 19% increase from 05/06 to 06/07.

3.10 Over the RSS plan period from 2002/2003, the provision of 7140 dwellings is required in the Borough.  As 4117 dwellings have been built since 2002, it is established that over the remaining plan period, the annual average number of net additional dwellings needed to meet overall housing requirements is 336 dwellings per annum (2a(v)).

3.11 The housing position in the Borough will continue to be monitored on a regular basis.  At present the Borough has a good supply of housing land, although it is anticipated that this will not be the case over the whole plan period as allocated sites are built out and windfall sites slow down in coming forward.  This will be dealt with as part of the monitoring and review process to ensure a continuing supply of  housing land as intended in the ' plan, monitor and manage' approach.

Transport

3.12 Inclusion of Wrightington and Whelley Hospitals and the Outpatients department in this year's plots has resulted in a significant improvement in new residential development with access to a hospital since 2005/06.

3.13 There have been no completions on the periphery of the borough in 2006/07 leading to the overall improvement in accessibility.

Local Services

Definitions

3.14 Wigan’s Unitary Development Plan supports a town centre first approach to new retail, leisure and office developments in line with both national and regional planning policy.  This is evident in chapter 11 of the UDP, within the shopping and town centre policies, namely Policy S1, and the detailed ‘Part 2’ Policies S1A – S1F.

3.15 When assessing whether new retail, leisure and office development is satisfactory in locations other than in centre, we have established floorspace thresholds for:

• small shops and services under 150 Sq m (gross);

• larger shops and services up to 500 Sq m (gross); and

• retail and leisure facilities over 500 Sq m (gross).

3.16 Local Service information is monitored annually for RSS requirements for completed development with a gross floorspace of over 500 Sq m.  However, for the purpose of this annual monitoring report, in order to relate better to local policy, we have looked at completed development for thresholds of over 150 Sq m (gross) and this is reflected in table 5 above.

3.17 The table above  shows that during 2006/07 a high proportion of retail development has occurred in centre in line with current planning policy.   This relates entirely to the recent completion of the Grand Arcade development in Wigan town centre.  The other smaller retail completions are accounted for by edge of centre development, within 300m of the town centre.

3.18 It is notable that for D2 uses, the completed leisure development shown for 2006/07 has not occurred in-centre, contrary to current planning policy.  However, this is in part due to completion of the club house (accounts for 900sqm) at the prestigious Leigh Sports Village site; Leigh Sports Village affords an allocation in Wigan’s UDP.  The remainder is for the completion of a 540 Sq m play centre at Howe Bridge Mill, Atherton which is in an edge of centre location.

3.19  Given the above explanations, it is clear that local service development over the period 2006/07 is in line with local planning policy.  The challenge now is to ensure that we plan pro-actively for town centres, identifying locations for future retail, leisure and office development in centres, through the forthcoming Local Development Framework.

3.20  We currently monitor Local Service information in a variety of ways.  Retail and Leisure commitments (over 500 Sqm) are set out in our ‘Portfolio of retail and leisure accommodation, commitments and proposals’ dated April 2007.  We hold information for all approvals for B1(a), A1, A2 and D2 uses for which we can monitor the amount of floorspace for local service uses.  This information is only available for all approvals from 1st April 2006.

3.21 We also record detailed information on all town centre uses within our Town Centre Database.  Information such as the diversity of uses, vacancy rates and retailer representation is also calculated using the information detailed in the database.  Town Centre Surveys are undertaken annually to ensure this information is kept up to date and to monitor change.  This information can be found later in this report under the local indicators section for UDP monitoring.

3.22 There is once again a nil return for the amount of eligible open spaces managed to Green Flag Award standard during the financial year 2006/07.  However we are currently undertaking an open space assessment for the Borough and will use this information when completed, together with CABE’s Green Flag Award criteria to collate data for the 2007 AMR.  Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust currently have proposals to improve two sites to a green flag standard over the next two years.

Minerals

3.23 The most up-to-date figures available for primary aggregate production are for 2005. The information is set out in the North West Regional Aggregates Working Party (RAWP) Annual Report 2006 (AM2006). Figures for secondary/recycled aggregate production and reuse can also be found in this document as well as in the ODPM Suvey of Arisings and Use of Construction and  Demolition and Excavation Waste as Aggregate in England 2005, and the most recent data (from 2006) in Smiths Gore Study to fill the evidence gaps for construction, demolition and excavation waste streams in the North West region of England.

NWRAWP (AM2006)

3.24 Production of primary land-won aggregates - The RAWP Annual Report 2006 provides an aggregated figure for Greater Manchester, Halton, Warrington and Merseyside for the year 2005. Data for the year 2006 has been collated but the final report is not due to be published until December 2007. Aggregate production for this year was 1.2 million tonnes for crushed rock and 0.4 million tonnes for sand and gravel, giving a total production figure of 1.6 millon tonnes. Figures cannot be assigned to individual boroughs for reasons of confidentiality.

3.25 Production of secondary/recycled aggregates - The RAWP Annual Report 2006 contains information on road planings and Clay/Shales/Pulverised Fuel Ash, Slate and Blast Furnace Slag and Other (see Table 1). Figures are identified for the North West level only. In 2005 a total of 192,939 tonnes of road planings were identified in the North West, of which 191,010 tonnes were reused. A total of 492,084 tonnes of Clay/Shales/Pulverised Fuel Ash, Slate and Blast Furnace Slag & Other were reused in 2005. Reserves for these materials were 12,885,765 tonnes in 2005.

3.26 Unfortunately these figures cannot be broken down below the North West level and do not cover other sources of construction and demolition waste.

3.27 Up to date information on construction and demolition waste can be found in the Survey of Arisings and Use of Alternatives to Primary Aggregates in England, 2005 (DCLG/Capita Symonds, February 2007) and in the Study to fill the evidence gaps for construction, demolition and excavation waste streams in the North West region of England (Smiths Gore, July 2007).

Survey of Arisings and Use of Alternatives to Primary Aggregates in England, 2005.

3.28 Capita Symonds was contracted to undertake a survey of the arisings of hard construction, demolition and excavation waste (CDEW) in 2006. The results of this survey are only available at a regional level and cannot be broken down to the sub-regional level. Therefore the study represents the position for the whole of the North West in 2005.

3.29 In 2005 the North West produced 6.72 million tonnes of recycled aggregate and soil consisting of approximately 6.02 million tonnes of aggregate and 0.7 million tonnes of soil.

Waste

3.30 There were no new waste management facilities granted planning permission and made operable during the year.

3.31 The amount of municipal waste declined slightly from last year. The percentage composted increased whilst that recycled diminished slightly as did waste that was landfilled.

Study to fill the evidence gaps for construction, demolition and excavation waste streams in the North West region of England

3.32 The North West Regional Technical Advisory Body (NWRTAB) for Waste and the North West RAWP (which has membership of officers from the Environment Agency, all of the North West Minerals and Waste Planning Authorities and the North West Regional Assembly) commissioned  a waste survey for the North West region of England. This was funded from the BREW fund, the North West Minerals and Waste Planning Authorities (Cheshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, 10 GM Authorities, Merseyside and Warrington), the Environment Agency and the North West Regional Assembly. The study, published in July 2007, was undertaken by Smiths Gore and represents the most up-to-date available for this waste stream. However, the results have not been broken down below regional estimates due to the low return rate of surveys.

3.33 The CDEW arisings generated, processed or handled and disposed of in 2006 are shown in the table below. The survey estimated that some 11,345,222 tonnes of waste was generated in 2006, compared to the national survey result of 10,792,823 tonnes for 2005.

All figures are in tonnes.

No data means that due to the low response rate received from this operator group, data is not presented for them. Some operators (e.g. quarries) generate, process and dispose of CDEW and so appear in all three sections.

Regional estimate is the mean regional estimate of CDEW arisings or waste handled for all types of waste.

Only one power station reported producing and handling relevant waste so data is not presented.

Data presented for all types of RES surveyed. was 1,510,788 tonnes of waste received .

3.34 The total arisings for the region when compared to the national survey were similar, although the source of waste differed.

Flood Protection and Water Quality

3.35 3 planning applications were subject to objections on water quality grounds but have not yet been determined. Of the 18 applications which were objected to on flood defence grounds,  3 were refused, 6 were withdrawn, 6 were able to satisfy the objection and 3 have not yet been determined.

Biodiversity

3.36 Following the adoption of a number of Biodiversity Action Plans, information on works to improve reedbed and pond habitats is now available.  Reedbed habitat is primarily located at the Wigan Flashes and has been part of a European project to improve this priority habitat.  In 2003 there were 30 hectares of reedbed at the Flashes.  In 2007 there are now 70 hectares of developing reedbed.  Work has also been carried out to increase the opportunities for amphibians on site, particularly newt species and to this end 8 new ponds were created in 2006/07. In future years it will be possible to monitor changes from the baseline established in this information.

3.37 These figures currently only relate to work on Council-owned land.  It is hoped that over time it may be possible to include figures for work on land in private ownership also.

Renewable Energy

3.38 No renewable energy capacity has been installed in the Borough during the year.