Decision details

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Economy which sought approval for the publication of Oldham Council’s Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) 2024.

The SHLAA was a technical document identifying land that might have potential for housing at some future stage. The requirement to undertake a SHLAA was set out in paragraph 68 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The SHLAA formed a key component of the evidence base underpinning housing policies and land allocations and will help to meet the area’s housing needs. 

The SHLAA assessed the development potential of land that could be capable of delivering homes though an assessment of suitability, availability and achievability (economic viability). It then indicates when it may come forward for development. 

The base date of the submitted SHLAA was 1^st April 2024. It provides an update to previous SHLAA (1^st April 2023) published in January 2024. The SHLAA 2024 identifies a total housing land supply of 13,475 homes (including allowances) over the short to long term.

More detail on the method used to carry out the assessment, along with the findings of the SHLAA were detailed in the submitted report and the appendices.

Options/Alternatives considered:

Option 1 - To approve and publish the SHLAA 2024 to provide evidence for the housing land supply position, Brownfield Register and Local Plan Review.

Option 2 – To not approve and publish the SHLAA 2024

The preferred Option was Option 1 - a fully assessed SHLAA provided the evidence base for identifying sites to be included in the housing land supply and for other requirements such as the Brownfield Land Register. It means the council has a full understanding of the borough’s currently available land supply which helps to inform decisions on allocating land in the future and can be used by the development industry to identify land with potential for housing development within the borough. Not publishing the SHLAA (option 2) would leave the council with an outdated published housing land supply position and does not effectively promote the potential supply of housing land within the borough to interested parties for development.

Resolved:

That the Cabinet approves the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) 2024 for publication.