Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment - Archive

The Council has undertaken an in-house Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) to identify and evaluate sites in the district with the potential for future housing development. The outcome of the study will form an essential part of the evidence base for the preparation of the Local Development Framework and help the Council to demonstrate that it has sufficient potentially suitable and available land to meet its housing requirements.

The Department for Communities and Local Government issued the Practice Guidance for the SHLAA in July 2007. (Opens new window to communities website) Following that, a project brief was prepared in November 2007.

The initial findings for the SHLAA work on Stages 1 to 7 were published in May 2008 for consultation. Details can be found in the table below.

In summary, the SHLAA initial findings indicated that:

1. South Bucks has the lowest housing requirement in the South East Region - 94 dwellings per year as recommended in the South East Plan Panel Report.

2. The Council is in a strong housing land supply position as delivery is significantly ahead of the expected annual requirement.
3. Some 87% of the district is Green Belt.
4. The vast majority of the outstanding planning permissions are within the settlements excluding from the Green Belt.

A "Call for Sites" exercise was also carried out at the same time as the consultation on the initial findings in 2008. Responses received during the consultation period are summarised in the table below.



Subsequently, a SHLAA Panel consisting of key housing stakeholders was set up in September 2008. The SHLAA Panel members act as independent advisors and include representatives from local developers, registered social landlords and estate agents. The aim of the SHLAA Panel is to assist the Council in its assessment of potential sites for new housing in the district. The Panel members would consider and provide advice on the deliverability and develop ability of identified sites by inputting their skills, expertise and knowledge into the preparation of the SHLAA.

An updated methodology for the SHLAA was agreed by the SHLAA Panel in early 2009. The Council has worked within the scope set out in the methodology when carrying out assessments on potential housing sites.