Purpose

To approve commission of advisors to undertake Housing Needs Assessment, Economic and Retail Development Needs Assessment, and Whole Plan Viability Assessment for the Local Plan.

Decision

Approval to award a contract to HDH Planning via consultancy+ to prepare key evidence base documents to support the Fenland50 Local Plan, including a Housing Needs Assessment, Economic and Retail Development Needs Assessment, and Whole Plan Viability Assessment.

Reasons for the decision

The Planning Service is seeking approval to award a contract to HDH Planning to prepare key evidence base documents to support the Fenland50 Local Plan, including a Housing Needs Assessment, Economic and Retail Development Needs Assessment, and Whole Plan Viability Assessment.

The commission will provide specialist evidence to inform the emerging Local Plan, including assessment of housing requirements and needs, employment and retail land and floorspace requirements, and the viability implications of the plan as a whole. This evidence is required to ensure that the Local Plan is justified, effective and deliverable, and that its policies and site allocations are supported by proportionate and robust technical assessment.

HDH Planning has previously undertaken viability work for the Council and has an established understanding of the local planning context, plan-making requirements and viability issues relevant to Fenland. This existing knowledge will reduce mobilisation time and support continuity between previous viability evidence and the new Whole Plan Viability Assessment required for Fenland50.

HDH Planning is also currently supporting both Peterborough and Huntingdonshire on their emerging plans. This is directly relevant because Fenland shares functional housing, economic and infrastructure relationships with adjoining areas, and the work will need to be informed by cross-boundary context, strategic growth issues and the duty to cooperate. HDH Planning’s current involvement in neighbouring plan-making work will help ensure that the evidence is prepared with an informed understanding of wider sub-regional matters.

HDH Planning will subcontract with Rapleys LLP to support the employment and retail needs assessment elements of the commission. This provides access to specialist commercial, employment and retail planning expertise while retaining HDH Planning as the lead consultant responsible for coordinating the overall evidence package and ensuring consistency between the housing, economic, retail and viability workstreams.

The evidence will also help inform discussions with Anglian Water in relation to construction worker housing associated with the emerging Fens Reservoir Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The reservoir project has the potential to generate temporary and specialist accommodation requirements during construction, and the Housing Needs Assessment will provide an important basis for understanding how such needs should be considered alongside the Local Plan’s wider housing strategy.

Alternative options considered

Not Applicable.