Comment

Representation ID: 296

Received: 05/01/2010

Respondent: Renaissance Southend Ltd

RSL understands that a further Development Delivery DPD is to be published in due course, subject to progress with the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy, which will provide more detail on the formulae and application of the policy and criteria set out in this SPD. In the interim RSL is concerned there may be a potential risk that the SPD fails to provide the certainty and consistency for potential developers wishing to understand what the Borough Council will be seeking from any planning application. In particular, the priorities under the Sustainable Communities Criteria are very wide ranging as listed at paras. 2.20, 2.23, 2.26, 2.28, 2.31, 2.33 and 2.36, with no indication as to what scale of development these will be applied to, nor any indication of relative priority. Some detail is given on affordable housing, reflecting its status in the Core Strategy DPD, and administration and monitoring, but otherwise the developer has no basis upon which to calculate the likely level of contributions that may be required for any particular development. This uncertainty is likely to be a deterrent, especially in the current property market. This risk is further exacerbated by the high proportion of major sites in Southend that are likely to be on previously developed, or brownfield sites, where existing use values and abnormal costs may be significantly higher than on green field sites.