housing infrastructure fund - enquiry hif/ff/000175 · housing infrastructure fund - enquiry...

Housing Infrastructure Fund - enquiry HIF/FF/000175Bid details Primary Local Authority East Sussex County Project type Forward funding Additional Local Authorities Wealden

Contact details Agent details Neil Darwin [email protected] 01778380683

Organisation Deyton Bell Ltd Lead details Richard Dawson [email protected]

Scheme details Scheme name Accelerating Wealden Delivery Scheme description East Sussex faces significant development needs, and is

ambitious for growth. Government projections show that thepopulation will rise by 90,000 (16.5% increase) by 2040. Thisincrease will be challenging with large areas of the countysubject to Areas of Natural Beauty and National Parkdesignations and there being significant infrastructure needs tosupport future growth. We believe this bid is unique, distinctiveand exceptional due to the impact of Ashdown Forest onHousing growth. There are three elements to this bid, these are:1 mitigation of nitrogen deposition in Ashdown Forest 2delivering a new Primary school in Hailsham and 3improvements to the A22/A295 Ashdown Forest has thepotential to impact upon future growth in Kent, Surrey and WestSussex. Addressing this issue will help begin accelerating EastSussex's growth. Hailsham has been identified as the initialfocal area, unlocking 4,500 homes across Wealden.

Physical infrastructure Road/highway, Education, Other Physical infrastructure (other) Implementation of mitigation measures to reduce the

deposition of nitrogen. Site plan(s) Overview of Ashdown Forest and inter-related growth in

Hailsham (file: HIF 3 elements map.pdf)

Delivery milestones Planning status Full / Detailed Planning references (and date granted) WD/2013/0637, WD/2017/0352, WD/2017/0697 (30/04

/2014) Statutory planning permission target date 30/03/2018 Infrastructure - dev partner identified 28/12/2017 Infrastructure - dev partner appointed 31/05/2018 Housing - dev partner identified 29/09/2018 Housing - dev partner appointed 30/12/2018 Start of infrastructure works 01/10/2018 Completion of infrastructure works 30/09/2019

Financials Funding amount £32,000,000

2017/2018 £250,000 2018/2019 £11,750,000 2019/2020 £12,000,000 2020/2021 £8,000,000 Total infrastructure costs (inc. sunk costs) £37,100,000

Land

Costs incurred to date (excluding land)Costs to complete

£5,000,000£100,000£32,000,000

Previous Funding Application No Local Authority investment (inc. LGF funding) Total: £5,100,000 Secured: £5,100,000 PWLB loan Not applicable Other public sector investment Not applicable CiL/S.106 contribution Not applicable Private sector investment (inc debt finance) Not applicable Indicative public sector investment 100 %

Aim to recover funding No How intend to recycle Wealden DC operates an established Revolving Infrastructure

Fund which is allocated to pump prime infrastructure to enableand accelerate sites. The additional income generated by thisproposal would boost this reinvestment further. Although thebid is centred upon Wealden, addressing mitigation issues atAshdown Forest has far reaching consequences that will enablethe potential for further growth across Kent, Surrey and WestSussex following Local Plan reviews that are currentlyunderway.

Development profile Number of sites

Total size of siteArea on brownfield

3140 ha18 ha

Local Authority Number of Homes

Wealden 4500

Total number of homes

Full / DetailedOutlinePlanning in principleAllocatedNone

Profile up to 2020Profile 2021 - 2025Profile 2026 - 2030Profile 2031 - 2035Profile future years

Homes delivered if without funding

4,500

0004,5000

5002,0002,00000

0 Explanation for number delivered Without intervention on a significant scale Wealden and wider

East Sussex will be unable to bring forward major scaledevelopment such as Hailsham. Ashdown Forest requiresmeasures to address Nitrogen deposition issues andneighbouring areas. Mitigation will provide a major opportunityto bring forward new sites for future development. This packagewill not only accelerate delivery in Wealden, but will also enablethe potential for further growth across a wider geography.

Providing site valuations No

Options appraisal Problem being addressed East Sussex with partners have identified infrastructure

requirements that currently restrict housing growth. Issuesaddressed through this proposal will enable us to move fromsmall scale growth on multiple sites to a more strategicapproach. Ashdown Forest is a Special Area of Conservation, airquality monitoring has shown that the levels of nitrogendeposition alongside strategic routes such as theA22/A275/A26 through the Forest are damaging this habitat.Development that generates increased vehicular movementsalong these routes needs to mitigate its potential impact.Development in Hailsham is no exception. Consequently,although Ashdown Forest is seemingly a distance away, there isa clear link. The Hailsham-Eastbourne Corridor was identified inthe South Wealden and Eastbourne Transport Study as part of apackage of critical transport infrastructure. Similarly schoolplaces are a priority with a new primary school required inHailsham to help us accommodate new growth.

Options considered East Sussex has been reviewing options and locations to

support large scale Housing Growth. Other locations withinHastings, Eastbourne and Lewes have been considered,however individual investors will not necessary makeinvestment viable. The requirement to mitigate Ashdown Forestand provide critical infrastructure to support the developmentof Hailsham and the wider area is the largest blockage togrowth. Mitigation presents a major opportunity to driveambitious plans for Hailsham than are available elsewhere inEast Sussex. Working with strategic and local partners we haveidentified and endorsed Accelerating Wealden Delivery as thebest placed scheme to benefit from Forward Funding. Thescheme requires a scaled solution, as opposed to smaller, moretactical ones that are being presented under the MarginalViability route. While these schemes are important forCounty-wide growth, this proposal provides a scale of housinggrowth unachievable by other interventions.

If funding not secured Without Forward Funding support, East Sussex would not be

able to pursue ambitious scaled delivery at Hailsham, nor wouldwe be able to address the issue restricting large scale growthnot only in East Sussex, but also in neighbouring areas. Theability to unlock and accelerate sustainable sites and locationsfor housing growth would therefore, be lost. In order to deliverambitious growth plans, East Sussex requires public pumppriming to increase rates of housing delivery. Our partnershipsare strong with the private sector and across the public sector.Issues such as mitigation of Ashdown Forest require publicsector support, simply as private developers will not take such afinancial risk. If this proposal fails to proceed, our focus wouldcontinue with small scale, piecemeal opportunities. We have astrong economy and can evidence that ambitious housinggrowth is needed to keep apace with our economy and matchexisting housing demand.

Strategic approach Demonstrate strong local leadership Partners in East Sussex will deliver this Forward Funding

proposal by building upon an existing positive partnershipworking across two-tier local government, with the LocalEnterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and business and other parts ofthe wider public sector, including health, police, the EastSussex Fire and Rescue Service and the South Downs National

Park Authority. We will continue to work closely withneighbouring authorities, to ensure that housing growth isoptimised beyond the East Sussex boundary. Our proposalfocuses upon bringing new land forward, in recognition ofgrowth pressures being felt across East Sussex. Our plans areambitious, in effect constituting recognition that publicinvestment is the catalyst for generating a step change ingrowth delivery. Through joint working we have identified theimpact Ashdown Forest has on a wider geography, and mostlocally the blockage it presents on potential growth inHailsham. We have strong political support for addressing thehousing challenge across East Sussex and we also have supportfor addressing Ashdown Forest. Support from Local EnterprisePartnerships has been secured. Our focus is on delivering newhomes and creating new communities which can benefit fromEast Sussex renowned quality of life. We have already invested,and are able to deliver sustainably too, our economy is wellplaced to be able to provide opportunities for new residents,with this growth anticipated to continue strongly despite otherglobal influences.

Demonstrate unlocking new & better homes Traditionally development has been small scale. With positive

economic growth and population forecasts showing rapidgrowth a more strategic approach is required. Investment in thisproposal will guarantee better homes, providing 'homes for life',that are adaptable to our changing housing market and ensurehigher quality delivery controlled through planning and designstandards. The Wealden Strategic Housing Market Assessmentsuggests that Wealden is experiencing a level of stress resultingfrom high demand and insufficient supply, this is apparent fromrents and levels of affordability (including house prices). TheDistrict is one of the least affordable districts across the HMA,with an affordability ratio of 11.5 in 2016. Wealden, like otherauthorities in East Sussex and neighbouring authorities has a‘Duty to Co-operate’ under Town and Planning Act.

Demonstrate diversifying housebuilding market This proposal offers a new approach in East Sussex. We want to

deliver a combination of diverse homes, with different tenures,built in efficient ways, to high standards of quality andsustainability. By addressing the issue in Ashdown Forest wewill be able to bring forward a number of new sites. These siteswill offer an opportunity to new market entrants and SMEs. Wewill be working to build better homes which are 'homes for life'which reflect the growing needs of working families, but also ourspecific growth as an economy, which has one of the highestageing populations. We will seek to use mechanisms to givepeople more choice over the design of their home andinvestigate how we can boost productivity and innovation byencouraging modern methods of construction in house building.We will work closely with our Local Enterprise Partnership toensure that we can grow the availability of Construction skillsand in utilising funds to support the SME building community.

Local MP(s) Yes Nus Ghani MP support (file: Nus Ghani Letter Supporting

Funding Bid.pdf) Hugh Merriman MP Support (file: HW Letter of Support re

application to HIF.pdf)

Local community Yes

Ashdown Forest Officer's Group (file: Statement of Support forHIF Bid.doc)

Local Enterprise Partnership(s) Yes South East LEP - Support Accelerate Wealden Delivery (file: HIF

SE LEP Endorsement Letter - ESCC scheme.docx)

All supporting Local Authorities Yes Cllr Bob Standley, Leader, Wealden DC (file: RS LtrO DCLG HIF

Letter of Support 200917.pdf) Cllr Ann Newton, Planning Portfolio Holder, Wealden DC (file:

AN LtrO DCLG HIF Letter of Support 200917.pdf) Charles Lant, CEO, Wealden DC (file: CL LtrO DCLG HIF Letter

of Support 200917.pdf) Team Sussex - S.Javid (file: 170925 GP letter of support for HIF

to Sajid Javid MP.docx) Team Sussex - A.Jones (file: 170925 GP letter of support for HIF

to Andrew Jones MP.docx)

Dev partner(s) (Infrastructure) Yes Developers East Sussex (file: HIF letter of support from DES to

Andrew Jones MP.pdf) Developers East Sussex (file: HIF letter of support from DES to

Sajid Javid MP.pdf)

Dev partner(s) (Housing) No We are aware that a number of housing partners will come

forward as this proposal progresses. The proposal presentsopportunities for SME house builders and we are keen toengage them through our Developers East Sussex Group.

Plan status Plan adopted or submitted No Date adopted or submitted 02/02/2013 Web addresses to relevant documents http://www.wealden.gov.uk/Wealden/Planning_Policy

/Local_Plan/CoreStrategy/Planning_Core_Strategy_Local_Plan.aspx

Approach to delivery Outline delivery plan Accelerating Wealden Delivery - Delivery Plan (file: Delivery

Plan Final.docx) Plans to deliver infrastructure Our plan to Accelerate Wealden's delivery through three inter-

related packages: - produce a Feasibility study to assess theimplementation of a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Subject tooutcomes of the feasibility study and relevant legislation,implement the LEZ. - Deliver a two form primary school on landat east of Park Road site in Hailsham - Deliver the Hailsham -Polegate - Eastbourne Movement and Access Corridor (MAC)which comprises a package of measures for public transportusers, cyclists and pedestrians The MAC will provideimprovements for all road users on the A295, A22, A2070 andA2021 corridors which link the three towns, improving access tokey trip attractors such as employment areas, Polegate railstation, the Eastbourne District General Hospital and SussexDowns College, and Eastbourne. Ashdown Forest and Hailshamare inextricably connected via the A22. Addressing thisdependency will directly lead to 4,500 new homes being built inWealden.

Link between infrastructure and homes Without investment in these three infrastructure asks throughthe Forward Funding route there would be no additionalgreenfield housing development in the local area for theforeseeable future. The step change in housing delivery isambitious in East Sussex, but dependent on the delivery of newinfrastructure and the mitigation of impacts of Nitrogendeposition in Ashdown Forest. Hailsham represents anambitious project, with a new two form entry primary schoolrequired in North Hailsham to provide additional pupil places by2019/20 to support new housing in the town. Transportimprovements are required on the Hailsham – Polegate –Eastbourne Movement and Access Corridor. East Sussexrequires funding to provide critical improvements for all roadusers, in particular public transport, cycle routes and improvedpedestrian routes on journeys from housing developments tothe key trip attractors – employment, retail, leisure and railconnections – in the three towns.

Delivery partners working together East Sussex County Council, Wealden District Council, Natural

England and neighbouring councils are working closelytogether to progress resolution of the Ashdown Forestconstraints on housing delivery through the Ashdown ForestOfficers Group. East Sussex is leading the Hailsham packagemeasures with preliminary work concluded for the additionaltwo-form Primary School and scoping improvements required tothe A22/A275 in order to accelerate delivery of the 4,500 unitsin Wealden. Our plan has been financially tested andbenchmarked against similar schemes across the country. Wehave confidence in our costings. Wealden District Council arealso in regular discussion and working co-operatively withdevelopers and landowners including through the DevelopersEast Sussex Forum (DES), the Ashdown Forest StakeholderForum and meetings with the House Building Federation. Thebreadth of the partnership will be reflected in our programmegovernance once the scheme is approved.

Supporting documents

File Description

170725_HIF_Ready_Reckoner__final_revised_ East SussexFinal draft.xlsx

Accelerating Wealden Delivery - Ready Reckoner

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