Annual Monitoring Report 2010

Transcription

1 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Planning for a Better Watford /08

2 Contents 1. Executive Summary Introduction Local Development Scheme Core Strategy DPD Site Allocations DPD Development Control Policies DPD Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD Proposals Map Evidence Base Risks Contextual Characteristics of Watford Demographic Structure and migration Projected population growth to Projected Household Growth Ethnicity Crime Deprivation Economy Labour Demand and Supply Education, Skills and Training Health Built Environment Street Cleaning and Recycling Local Output Indicators Transport Environment Housing Core Output Indicators Business Development Housing Environmental Quality Appendix 1. Glossary of Terms Appendix 2. List of Studies which act as the LDF Evidence Base Appendix Index of Multiple Deprivation Appendix 4. Comparison of New Core Output Indicators with Original Core Output Indicators Appendix 5. Local Development Scheme Timetable and Milestones the revised LDS approved by Government Office July Appendix 6. Watford Context Map Appendix 7. List of WDP 2000 Saved Policies agreed by Secretary of State s Direction dated 14 September Appendix 8. Summary Butterfly Conservation Transect Data (Total Butterflies and Total Species) By District Appendix 9. Summary of Housing 31/3/10 and Projected Annual Completions Appendix 10. Outstanding Allocated Sites without Planning 31/3/

3 17. Appendix 11. Housing Sites listed in Watford District Plan /3/ Appendix 12. Summary of 5 Year Assessment of Housing Supply Appendix 13. Business Development Data Tables and Figures Table 1: List of local development documents to be prepared Table 2: Core Strategy DPD milestones Table 3: Site Allocations DPD milestones Table 4: Development Control DPD milestones Table 5: Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD milestones Figure 1: Population pyramid for Watford Census Table 6: Age and Sex of Population by numbers Table 7: Internal and International Components of Change between the mid 2008 (revised) and mid 2009 population estimates for Hertfordshire and the districts Table 8: ONS projected population figures Table 9: CLG 2006-based household projections and comparison of projected growth in households for 2006 to 2031 with CLG revised 2004 based projections for Table 10: DCLG revised 2006 based Household Projections by Household Type Table 11: Ethnic Composition of Resident Population in percentages Figure 2: Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages) Non-white persons Table 12: Crime in Watford Figure 3: Key Crime Statistics in Watford 2007/08 to 2009/ Figure 4: Jobs density from representing the ratio of total jobs to workingage population (includes males and females aged 16-64) Figure 5: Number of Employee Jobs by Industry Groups Watford Table 13: Earnings by residence - Gross weekly pay all full time workers Table 14: Earnings by workplace Gross weekly pay all full time workers Table 15: VAT Registrations/Deregistrations by Industry Table 16: Number of and % change in VAT registered businesses for Watford Table 17: Total Claimant Count and Change Table 18: JSA claimants by age and duration (April 2010) Figure 6: Claimant Count Comparison Table 19: Jobcentre plus vacancies (April 2010) Figure 7: GCSE and equivalent results for young people, all pupils at the end of KS4 achieving 5+ A* - C Table 20: Qualifications of working age population (males 16-64, females 16-59) Figure 8: Life expectancy (years) Table 21: Percentage of completed non-residential development within UCOs A, B and D complying with car-parking standards set out in the WDP Table 22: Percentage of new residential development (net completions) within minutes public transport time of services/key activities Table 23: Car Ownership - % of households and total cars per household Table 24: Method of travel to work - Watford Table 25: % Change in Total Vehicle Kilometreage on HCC roads in Watford Table 26: Travel to Work Mode Share by Watford residents Table 27: Watford s cycle route usage annual number of trips and % change

4 Table 28: Watford s cycle route usage cyclists per day and annual % change Table 29: Annual output for cycle routes in Watford Table 30: Amount (hectares) of eligible open spaces managed to Green Flag Award standard Figure 9: Mean house prices first quarter 2001 to first quarter Table 31: Average house prices in Watford, Oct-Dec quarter and % change year on year Table 32: Average house prices and volumes of sales all properties in Watford Figure 10: Annual Income required to fund 90% mortgage at three and a half times salary in respect of average property prices in Watford Oct-Dec Table 33: Households and Tenure Table 34: Watford Gross Housing Completions by type and no. of bedrooms Figure 11: Watford Housing Completions (gross) by grouped size and type, by year, Table 35: Household Spaces Table 36: Percentage of new dwellings (gross) completed by net density Table 37: Total amount (sq.m.) of additional employment floorspace in Watford by type (BD1 (i)) Table 38: Total amount of additional employment floorspace in employment areas - by type (BD1 (ii)) Table 39: Total amount of employment floorspace (sq.m.) on PDL by type (BD2 (i)) Table 40: Percentage of gross floorspace (sq.m.) developed for employment on PDL by type (BD2 (ii)) Table 41: Employment land available by type - sites for which planning permission has been granted (but not implemented) in hectares (BD3 (ii)) Table 42: Amount in sq.m. of completed retail, office and leisure development: within town centres (BD4 (i)) Table 43: Amount in sq.m. of completed retail, office and leisure development: within local authority area Watford (BD4 (ii)) Table 44: Net Housing Completions and Projected 31 Mar 10 against East of England Plan Target, extended to Table 45: Net Housing Completions and Projected 31 Mar 10 against Core Strategy target Figure 12: Housing Trajectory 2010 based on the East of England Plan target Figure 13: Housing Trajectory 2010 based on the Core Strategy target Table 46: Total Net Housing Completions by Allocated Housing Site or Windfall Type Table 47: Percentage of new and converted homes (gross) on previously developed land (H3) Table 48: Affordable Housing Units completed (H5) Table 49: Affordable Housing agreed as at 31 March Table 50: Building for Life Assessments - post completion Table 51: Number and area of wildlife sites in Watford (E2) Figure 14: Great Crested Newt Figure 15: Stag Beetle Table 52: Renewable Energy Developments granted planning permission(e3a) Table 53: LCBP Phase 1 grants for Watford

5 1. Executive Summary This Annual Monitoring Report covers the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March The purpose of the Annual Monitoring Report is to: Review the progress of the work programme contained in the Local Development Scheme, with regard to production of new local development documents; Assess the effectiveness of existing planning policies; and Identify whether any policies are not being implemented, or should be amended or replaced. This report is part of a continuing process of developing a more comprehensive monitoring system and provided below is a summary of the main findings of the report: Local Development Scheme The Core Strategy will set out the Council s vision for development and conservation in Watford to 2031 and is currently in preparation. The Planning Policy team have been updating our evidence base for the Core Strategy on areas such as retail and employment, as well as completing work on strategic housing markets, housing land availability, open space, water supply and low carbon issues. Delays in the production of evidence based studies being undertaken by consultants appointed by the Council, have meant that it has not been possible to move to the submission stage in line with the published timetable, which is under review. Public consultation on the vision, strategic objectives and the main projects of the Core Strategy took place in July 2010 at a town centre consultation shop. Pre-submission publication of the Core Strategy is expected in March/April 2011, with submission programmed for July Business Development There has been an overall net gain of 1,196 sq.m. of employment floorspace this year in Watford, following net losses to employment floorspace for the previous three years. 100% of the 4,152 sq.m. gross floorspace gained to employment this year was on previously developed land, 66% of which was in allocated employment areas. There has been little development activity within the Town Centre, accompanied by a decrease in the number of jobs available in Watford and a large increase in unemployment since 2008 but it can be seen that the variations between 2009 and 2010 have been far less dramatic than the - 4 -

6 previous year, with Watford claimant count increasing by 119 persons which is less than 7%. There were only two applications completed to technically non-employment uses in designated employment areas; one was a change of use of part of a building from a warehouse to a skills training centre and the other was the demolition of offices and erection of a hotel and 22 flats; both were deemed to be acceptable uses within the designated employment area and to the benefit of businesses generally. 67% of the 1.06 hectares of land lost to employment in Watford overall, has been used for residential development, resulting in a total of 70 dwellings (not including the 22 flats above a hotel). As previously mentioned, 23% has been used for a hotel and a skills training centre utilised 6%; the remainder was made up of two shops and a private taxi garaging, servicing and repair premises. Housing The number of housing completions during amounted to 516 net, more than twice the revised annual rate required to remain on target to meet either the East of England Plan target current during this monitoring period or the proposed Core Strategy housing target. Watford can demonstrate that it has a five year supply of deliverable sites, as the number of projected completions between has been identified as 1,514 (x), which exceeds the residual East of England Plan planned housing provision target of 1,160 (y) dwellings by 354 units. The five year land supply is calculated as (x/y) *100 and therefore Watford s 5 year land supply is (1514/1160)*100=130.5%. 100% of housing completions were built on previously developed land, exceeding our target of 95% and the national annual target of 60%. 224 affordable dwellings have been delivered during 2009/10, representing a significant 43% of the overall total 516 net housing completions. Of the 224 affordable dwellings, 159 affordable housing units were completed via planning obligations this year, and the remaining 65 were additional acquisitions negotiated. Outstanding planning permissions include substantial commitments of 560 affordable dwellings, over half of which are under construction. CABE Building for Life criteria is a government endorsed assessment benchmark developed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), which promotes design excellence and celebrates best practice in the house building industry. A total of twelve development schemes contained the requisite number of residential units to reach the threshold for requiring a Building for Life Assessment, and these assessments have been carried out in Watford for the first time this year. Two schemes scored at least 16 out of 20 and are therefore characterised as 'very good', - 5 -

7 Transport while a further three schemes scored at least 14 out of 20 and are therefore characterised as 'good'. The remaining seven schemes achieved 'average' scores. Car parking policies are in place to ensure that appropriate provision is made for car parking in relation to new development or in land use conversions. They are intended to restrict over provision and to encourage the use of alternative sustainable transport modes. All non-residential development (within Use Classes A, B and D) completed this year complies with the standards set out in the WDP A key corporate priority is to tackle traffic congestion and encourage less reliance on the car and in support of existing policy T9 and the Cycling Strategy. Although no new cycle route has been provided during 2009/10, 14.1km of new cycle route has been delivered since 2003/04 in support of Policy T9 and the Cycling Strategy and further new cycle route is planned for 2010/11. Little change in cycle route usage has been seen this year. 100% of new residential development is within 30 minutes public transport time of all services, apart from hospitals, the result of which is 89%. Watford has good public transport links, but the 11% of housing completions which were less accessible were all in North Watford. This area is the furthest away from rail and underground stations and it must be recognised that it is accordingly not quite as accessible in this respect, as other parts of Watford. Monitoring by the County Council of roads they control (which excludes motorways and trunk roads) provides a measure of locally generated traffic change. Data indicates that there were slight decreases in traffic the previous two years of 2.9% and 1.35% but shows that between 2008 and 2009, there was an increase of 1.77% on local roads in Watford, which may be attributable to diversion of traffic onto the local network to avoid the new M25 widening works. In most other districts in Hertfordshire, traffic flows on the local network (HCC roads) decreased. The Council introduced a Green Travel Plan for staff in 2007 where a range of incentives were provided for Council staff to encourage the use of sustainable travel modes. A survey was undertaken in April 2010 to discover the changes in travel choice which showed that staff travelling by car alone had reduced from 64% in 2007 to 44% in 2010; car share increased from 4% to 14% and all more sustainable travel mode use increased e.g. train/tube use from 3% to 12%. With an increase in walking, cycling, public transport and car share, together with a reduction to single occupancy car use by staff, this is beginning to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to local and national targets

8 Environment Watford now has five Local Nature Reserves (LNRs): Albans Wood, Cassiobury Park, Harebreaks Wood and Lairage Land and Garston Park, the last was recently declared an LNR in March The Council has retained the three formal accreditations of the Green Flag award, Cassiobury Park, Woodside Playing Fields/Alban Wood and Cheslyn Gardens, also managing another five sites to the same standard without making formal applications, which would be too costly and time consuming. The overall total land managed to Green Flag award standards amounts to just over 121 hectares, 39% of the total open space managed by the Council. Our research has found that no objections have been received in the monitoring period on the grounds of water quality from the Environment Agency (EA) and just two objections to planning applications were received on the grounds of flood risk; both objections have been subsequently withdrawn. One application has not been determined and is due to be withdrawn and with regard to the other application, conditions were imposed as recommended by the Environment Agency in the grant of planning permission on appeal. The mapping of all Watford s open spaces into GIS as part of the PPG17 study has been completed (September 2010) and analysis will take place over the next few months to quantify deficiencies and set priorities. This will in turn inform the review of the Green Spaces Strategy. The Council aims to conserve and enhance the built environment of the town through careful control of development and design, and protection of historic assets. During , Conservation Area appraisals for Estcourt and Nascot were being prepared. The draft versions were published for consultation between 5 March and 16 April 2010 and following revision, the final documents were adopted in June This makes a total of 6 character appraisals completed out of the overall 8 Conservation areas. Our conclusion is that planning policies are continuing to work taking into account contextual forces which are not within local authority control, and have been brought about by the worldwide economic downturn. This report does not suggest that any immediate changes to policy are required although new policies and objectives are being formulated as part of the emerging Local Development Framework. However, the Council has been active in promoting the town s economic prosperity and potential, attracting investment and retailers to the town; also working on major development projects, including Charter Place, Watford Junction, Watford Health Campus and Croxley rail link, improvements to cultural facilities, such as the Colosseum refurbishment, and town centre public spaces, together with seeking local people s views in shaping future direction

9 2. Introduction The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 ( the Act ) came into force on the 28 th September 2004 and set in place a series of changes to the planning system. The 2004 Act means that at a local level, District or Unitary Plans are being replaced by a portfolio of Local Development Documents, known collectively as the Local Development Framework ( LDF ). At a county level, Structure Plans are no longer produced. The revised planning system of using a range of shorter documents rather than a larger single plan is designed to promote greater flexibility to update or amend policies in order to respond to change more quickly, and also enable more opportunity for community involvement in the process. For the period covered by this report, the Development Plan for Watford comprised the East of England Plan, adopted in May 2008, the saved policies from the Watford District Plan 2000 ( WDP2000 ), which was adopted on the 3 December 2003 and any subsequent interim changes (such as the revised affordable housing policy adopted 7 June 2010), the saved policies from the Hertfordshire Structure Plan ( SP ) and the Hertfordshire Waste and Minerals Local Plans (which are themselves being replaced by Minerals and Waste Local Development Frameworks). The coalition government has made clear its intention to revoke regional spatial strategies through the Decentralism and Localism Bill. The Bill is expected in November 2010, to be enacted in autumn This means that the East of England Plan will no longer form part of the development plan. The revocation of regional spatial strategies means planning authorities will set their own strategy and targets for their area, underpinned by evidence, as part of the government's commitment to local decision making. Depending on the extent of further changes to the development plan system there may be a period of learning and adjustment for authorities. With regard to the present legislation of the 2004 Act, Local/District Plans and Structure Plans 'expired' on 27 September 2007 unless 'saved', in whole or in part, by the Secretary of State. Having considered the Borough Council's submissions on which Watford District Plan 2000 policies needed to be saved, the Secretary of State issued a formal Direction on 14 September 'saving' around 70% of the Watford District Plan, and details of these are set out in the Saving Direction in Appendix 7. Information on the saved policies from the Hertfordshire Structure and Minerals and Waste Plans is available from the County Council. Every local planning authority is required to produce an Annual Monitoring Report ( AMR ) to monitor the policies and proposals of the Local Development Framework. These are required to: - 8 -

10 Review actual progress in terms of local development document preparation against the timetable in the local development scheme Assess the extent to which policies are being implemented/achieved Where policies are not being implemented, explain why and set out what steps are to be taken to ensure that the policy is implemented; or whether the policy is to be amended or replaced Identify the significant effects of implementing policies in local development documents and whether they are as intended; and Set out whether policies are to be amended or replaced The guidelines specify that the Annual Monitoring Reports must contain the following indicators, but recognises that it may not be possible to cover all the prescribed indicators in the initial reports, as some can only be developed as work on the Local Development Framework is progressed, and new policies emerge: Contextual Indicators provide a background and context against which to consider the effects of policies and interpret the output and significant effects indicators. Core Output Indicators ( COI ) aim to provide a standardised set of measurable activities that can be compared on a national basis, and are directly related to and a consequence of planning policy. In July 2008, the Government published guidance, as outlined in Appendix 4, amending the original core output indicators. (Full explanations can be found in Core Output Indicators Update 2/2008 issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG )). There is also the option to develop local output indicators to monitor local issues which are not sufficiently covered by the core output indicators we have currently elected to provide such indicators in the areas of housing, transport and the environment. Significant Effects Indicators are linked to the Sustainability Appraisal ( SA ) objectives and should enable a comparison to be made between the predicted effects and the actual effects on society, the environment and the economy, during implementation of planning policies. All Development Plan Documents ( DPDs ) including Supplementary Planning Documents ( SPDs ) within Watford s emerging Local Development Framework are subject to both Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment ( SEA ). It is possible to undertake this through a single appraisal process. As part of this process, objectives and targets should be developed for considering the sustainability of policies together with significant effects indicators in order to measure the effectiveness of the policies. A draft SEA and SA Scoping Report was prepared and was published for a period of consultation from 7 March 2006 to 11 April This was the first stage in an ongoing process with a further SEA and SA Report being published alongside the Core Strategy Preferred Options consultation during February/March It is the intention to introduce significant effects indicators as new policies are developed within the Local Development Framework, which is still in the early stages of production

11 The Local Development Scheme ( LDS ) is the work programme for the production of the LDF, and contains a timetable which outlines when Local Development Documents are scheduled to be produced. Due to various reasons, discussed in Section 3, the timetable is currently under review. As the Council has not yet reached the stage of adopting a Core Strategy containing new policies, the Annual Monitoring Report for 2009/10 focuses on monitoring the effects of saved policies in the adopted Watford District Plan 2000 while also looking forward to some policies which are in the course of development. Many of the Core Output Indicators serve that purpose and this report concentrates on updating the data, giving a year on year comparison where practical and analysis from the baseline figures provided by the previous AMRs; updating the contextual indicators, where new data is available; and adding bundles of local output indicators on areas including housing, transport and the environment where additional local data is required. Watford Borough Council participates in the Hertfordshire County/District Information Liaison Group quarterly meetings, in which issues concerning data collection and provision can be raised and examined. Hertfordshire County Council liaises on behalf of the district councils with such providers as Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre ( HBRC ), and progress is still being made in improving the data collection now required. Apart from other departments within the Council, the Planning Policy Section also initiates enquiries direct with external data sources, such as the Energy Saving Trust and the Environment Agency. Further progress has been made with regards to improvements to the base data and the functionality of the mapping system that the Council employs, the Geographic Information System ( GIS ). With regards to the Open Space Strategy, the process of plotting and checking all Watford s parks into GIS as part of the PPG17 study has been completed during This procedure has taken longer than anticipated due to lack of staff resources, both within the GIS section and Planning Policy, which have largely been resolved. In the summer of 2010, Watford Borough Council agreed to subscribe to a new joint monitoring system across the districts, which has been purchased by Hertfordshire County Council from CDPsoft Limited.. HCC have been testing and checking the system during the autumn before arranging the migration of all HCC monitoring data from 2001 to April Training dates for the districts monitoring officers are being arranged for January and February 2011 and there is a rolling programme for setting up the electronic transfer of planning permission data from the districts Development Control systems, in the future. The new system will provide purpose built spatial monitoring, analysis and reporting specifically designed for the needs of Local Authorities and should be fully implemented during 2011, enabling the district councils to have direct online access. This report is in respect of the previous monitoring year so data provided is for the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March Additional information that has subsequently

12 become known with regard to more recent developments is supplied within the commentary where it is practical to do so, quoting the dates applicable, such as progress with the Local Development Scheme, in order to provide as up to date a picture as possible. The legislation states that the document must be submitted to the Secretary of State (the Government Office for the East of England) by the end of December 2010 and it will also be published on the Council s website at Government guidance does not require formal public consultation in respect of Annual Monitoring Reports and time constraints between provision of the data and the requirement to submit and publish by the deadline above have prevented us from proceeding with a formal consultation period. However, we do welcome views on the AMR s format and content so that we can make improvements on future reports and request that any comments be sent to: Planning Policy Watford Borough Council Town Hall Watford WD17 3EX Alternatively, you can comments to strategy@watford.gov.uk

13 3. Local Development Scheme The timetable setting out the programme for production of the new Local Development Documents is known as the Local Development Scheme ( LDS ). Annual Monitoring Reports are required to set out how progress with preparing LDFs during the monitoring year meets targets set in the LDS, and to set out whether changes to the LDS are required. Our most recent LDS was published in November Since then we have reviewed the timetable due to a number of the potential risks identified in the current LDS occurring at once. These related primarily to staffing levels and to slippage in the timetable for external consultants working on evidence studies, as well as the need for a number of additional evidence studies being identified. With all these issues ongoing, we have not agreed a revised timetable formally with the Government Office. However our revised LDS will now include a Town Centre Area Action Plan, and will no longer refer to the Residential Design Guide, as this was adopted in November Table 1 below shows the Development Plan Documents we currently intend to produce: Table 1: List of local development documents to be prepared Development Plan Document Core Strategy Site Allocations Development Control Policies Town Centre Area Action Plan A summary follows of the progress of each document. The government's definition of the key milestones to be included in the LDS has changed, being reduced to 4 formal stages set out in regulations: "commencement ", now defined as the Scoping for the Sustainability Appraisal, Publication of a Submission Document (Reg 27), Submission to the Secretary of State (Reg 30) and Adoption. All interim stages of consultation and preparation, such as Issues and Options and Preferred Options are now "informal". Since the Scoping for the Sustainability Appraisal was done as a single report for all LDF documents, you will note that this stage is now shown as March 2006 for all documents, even though preparatory work was begun earlier for the Core Strategy. Reg 27 and 30 were previously a single stage so show the same target date in the adopted LDS. LDSs are now also only required to show the timetable for Development Plan Documents Core Strategy DPD The Core Strategy will set out the Council s vision for development and conservation in Watford to 2031 and is currently in preparation. Preferred Options consultation on the Core Strategy took place in Feb/Mar 2008, roughly in line with the 2007 LDS target date of Jan/Feb However, the outcome of this consultation revealed a need for a considerable amount of further work to be done on the evidence base and, along with other reasons discussed above this

14 resulted in slippage against the timetable. The currently planned timetable is shown below. Table 2: Core Strategy DPD milestones Milestones 2007 LDS Date Met? Planned Comments Commencement (SA Scoping) Publication of Submission Document (Reg 27) Submission to Mar 06 Y - Some consultation had already taken place before this including Issues and Options and joint consultation with the Community Strategy. Jul 08 N Mar/Apr 2011 Jul 08 N Jul 2011 Secretary of State (Reg 30) Adoption Sep 09 N Mar/Apr Site Allocations DPD The purpose of this document is to identify sites for development in accordance with the Core Strategy and give details of proposals and requirements for development. It will be informed by the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment published in November Table 3: Site Allocations DPD milestones Milestones 2007 LDS Date Met? Planned Comments Commencement (SA Scoping) Publication of Submission Document (Reg 27) Mar 06 Y - Aug 09 N Under review Submission to Secretary of State (Reg 30) Aug 09 N Under review Adoption Sep 10 N Under review We issued a call for sites during 2006 and again in A Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) has been completed and was consulted upon Jan/Feb However, the focus is now on delivering the Core Strategy first

15 3.3. Development Control Policies DPD This DPD will set out generic policies for Development Control. Table 4: Development Control DPD milestones Milestones 2007 LDS Date Met? Planned Comments Commencement Mar 06 Y - (SA Scoping) Publication of Submission Document (Reg 27) Jun 10 - Under review Submission to Jun 10 N Under Secretary of State (Reg 30) review Adoption Sep 10 N Under review This will follow the Core Strategy Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD This is a newly proposed DPD which did not feature in the 2007 LDS. It will contain detailed policies and proposals for the regeneration of the Town Centre. The DPD will be informed by the Town Centre Study published in December 2005, and a Cultural Masterplan currently being prepared which concentrates on improving The Parade end of the High Street. Table 5: Town Centre Area Action Plan DPD milestones Milestones Planned/Actual Comments Commencement (SA Scoping) Mar 2006 A Town Centre Study was published in December Publication of Submission Document (Reg 27) Submission to Secretary of State (Reg 30) Adoption Under review Under review Under review 3.5. Proposals Map The Proposals Map, part of the development plan, is updated on adoption of each DPD. As no new documents have yet been adopted which result in changes to the Proposals Map, no changes have yet been made to the Proposals Map that currently forms part of the adopted Watford District Plan

16 3.6. Evidence Base Much of the evidence base for preparing the LDF has been completed and is published: this is listed in Appendix 2 along with information on additional work being undertaken to: complete some outstanding studies; update studies that may be out-of-date or nearing the end of their shelf-life before relevant DPDs are submitted; and update or undertake new studies that are recommended or required by new national guidance, or for which guidance or procedures have changed Risks The published LDS contains a table identifying risks, their potential impacts and possible mitigation measures

17 4. Contextual Characteristics of Watford The Borough of Watford is predominantly urban in nature and covers an area of 2,142 hectares (8.3 sq. miles). However, almost 20% of the Borough forms part of the Metropolitan Green Belt which encloses much of the built-up area. The Colne Valley Linear Park, the Gade Valley and Cassiobury Park, which extends almost into the centre of Watford, provide the main open space and nature resources in Watford. Situated in the South West of Hertfordshire, Watford has several locational advantages due to its excellent communication links. The M1 motorway, with a direct link to the town centre, and the London to Glasgow railway pass through the Borough. London Euston can be reached in 20 minutes by rail, while the nearby M25 motorway has enhanced road access to the major airports at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. Watford has major A-road links to adjoining areas and is also connected to the underground rail network with the Metropolitan Line terminus adjacent to Cassiobury Park. Traditionally a market town, and a centre for the printing industry, it is now a major town in the region and accommodates the headquarters of a number of nationally known firms. It has developed into an attractive sub-regional shopping centre and important centre for cultural and recreational facilities Demographic Structure and migration The total resident population for the Borough at the 2001 Census was 79,726 (see Table 6) which is an increase of 5,160 persons or 6.9 per cent since This compares to an increase of 5.7 per cent across Hertfordshire and a 4.4 per cent increase in England overall. Figure 1: Population pyramid for Watford Census 2001 Source: Office for National Statistics 2001 Census

18 Table 6: Age and Sex of Population by numbers WATFORD Total Resident Population Males Females All Ages 79,726 39,227 40, ,117 2,570 2, ,305 2,651 2, ,053 2,585 2, ,380 2,191 2, ,004 2,373 2, ,206 3,556 3, ,528 3,822 3, ,093 3,706 3, ,783 3,032 2, ,807 2,424 2, ,781 2,370 2, ,871 1,985 1, ,249 1,618 1, ,866 1,373 1, ,587 1,168 1, , , , and over Source: Office for National Statistics 2001 Census Watford s population is comprised of 49 per cent male and 51 per cent female, which is broadly in line with the male/female ratio in the East of England and across England as a whole. There is a significantly larger percentage than the national average of people who are aged 25 to 44 (34.6% in Watford compared with 29.3% of England as a whole - see Figure 1). Children under 15, at 19.4%, make up a higher proportion of the population than people aged 60 or over, at 17.3%, which is contrary to the county and national trend. The average age for Watford is 36.7 years as opposed to 38.6 years in England and Wales. Watford is the district with the greatest population density in Hertfordshire averaging at 39 persons per hectare, compared with an average of 3 persons per hectare for the East of England region and 4 persons per hectare for England overall. The most recently published (25 June 2010) population estimate by the Office for National Statistics ( ONS ) is the mid-2009, which refers to the population as at 30 June 2009 and is 83,800 (rounded to the nearest hundred in accordance with ONS requirements). This estimate has increased by 1,300 from the revised 2008 mid year estimate of 82,500 and 2,800 from the original 2008 mid year estimate of 81,000. In comparison with the County as a whole, Watford has the second highest number of National Insurance registrations for non-uk nationals in 2009/10, which reflects numbers of new immigrants but this is only one of the components that is taken into account when migration figures are estimated. The UK has no compulsory

19 registration of migration and there are no comprehensive administrative sources. Therefore estimating migration is extremely complex. ONS are currently taking forward the recommendations resulting from a recent review of the sources of information in order to identify how improvements can be made to the methodology over the coming years. The volume of migration per 1,000 population gives an overall indication of the total amount of migration for the area. In terms of all migration, this was highest in Welwyn Hatfield but in terms of international migration the volume was highest in Watford. Table 7: Internal and International Components of Change between the mid 2008 (revised) and mid 2009 population estimates for Hertfordshire and the districts Data source: Office for National Statistics. Crown Copyright N.B. Volume of migration per 1,000 population is calculated as (in migration + out migration)/population*1000 (separately for all migration and international migration). Internal migration into and out of Hertfordshire is not the sum of numbers moving into or out of component districts, as some migrants move between districts as well. Figures may not sum due to rounding 4.2. Projected population growth to 2033 In order to assist us in our planning objectives, we have considered the most recently available population projections, which are summarised in the table below. Table 8: ONS projected population figures ONS 2006 based population projections 2006 based estimate 2031 projected figure Increase over 25 years Change % increase ONS 2008 based population projections 2033 projected figure Increase over 25 years Change % Increase 2008 based estimate Watford 79,600 89,300 9, % 82, ,400 18, % Hertfordshire 1,058,600 1,253, , % 1,083,900 1,306, , % Data Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC, data sourced from Office for National Statistics via HCC Community Information Unit

20 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the 2008-based sub-national population projections on 27 May They are trend based projections using the recent trends in birth and death rates and migration and do not take into account the future effect of local, regional or national policy. They are based on ONS s revised (on 13 May 2010) mid year estimates of population for The 2008-based population projections replace the previous corresponding set, the 2006-based (which were published in June 2008). The projections suggest an increase of 18% in England s population over the 25 year period from 2008 to Amongst the regions, the South East will continue to have the highest population but the region with the highest projected proportional growth is the East of England (24.4%) followed by the South West (21.3%). The English counties with the highest projected proportional growth are Suffolk, Essex and Northamptonshire, all at over 25% over the 25 year period. Hertfordshire has the lowest projected growth of the counties in the East of England region. The 2008-based projections suggest a rise of 20.6% in Hertfordshire s population from the base in 2008 to 2033, in comparison with the 2006-based projections, which showed less of an increase, at 18.4% over the 25 years to The county with the lowest projected growth in England is Cumbria (7.5%), whilst the metropolitan area of Merseyside (1.6%) has an even lower projected growth. The highest proportional population growths are forecast for Welwyn Hatfield (35.2% and Hertsmere (23.4%) districts. The lowest projected growth is in Stevenage (10.8%) and Dacorum (13.9%). However, the most significant change is in Watford where the proportional increase for the 2006-based projections was projected to be 12.2% but for the 2008-based projections, has risen to 22.9%. This equates to an increase of 18,900 people over the 25 year period to 2033, whereas the 2006-based projection equated to 9,700 people over the 25 years to These projections are based on trends over the preceding five year period and differences between the sets of projections are caused by the emerging trends. Differences may also have been caused by the revisions to the mid year estimate series particularly due to the changing migration trends. Please note that population projections at district level especially must be viewed as indicative only Projected Household Growth The 2006-based household projections were published by Communities and Local Government on 11 March 2009 and are linked to the 2006-based population projections published by ONS in June These projections supersede the previous revised 2004-based projections and cover the period 2006 to The household projections are an indication of the likely increase in households given the continuation of recent demographic trends. They are not an assessment of housing need nor do they take into account the effect of future policies. Household projections are acknowledged to be more uncertain at district level and are limited by the figures being expressed in whole thousands

21 In comparing the DCLG 2006-based projections with the revised 2004-based projections, figures for the East of England suggest an increase in the number of households from 31.5% to 35.43%. In Hertfordshire, projected growth has increased from 26% to 27.6% but for the districts there are wide differences in the projected growth with Watford falling by the largest decrease of 3.7% from 21.9% to 18.2% but Welwyn Hatfield increasing the most by 10.2% from 29.3% to 39.5%. Stevenage, Three Rivers, East Hertfordshire and St Albans also have decreases in projected growth between projections. Hertsmere, Dacorum, North Hertfordshire and Broxbourne have increases in projected growth between projections. Table 9: CLG 2006-based household projections and comparison of projected growth in households for 2006 to 2031 with CLG revised 2004 based projections for Increase DCLG based % growth DCLG revised based % growth Difference between 2006 and revised based projections Watford % 21.90% -3.7% Herts % 26.00% 1.6% Source: N.B. Household numbers are expressed in whole thousands Table 10 shows the household projections for Watford by household type. These show: Large increase in cohabiting couple households with a decrease in married couple households Single person households are projected to increase steadily through the 25 years The average household size is projected to decrease consistently through the period to 2.23 by 2031, whereas the average household size in the 2001 census was

22 Table 10: DCLG revised 2006 based Household Projections by Household Type Note: Increase 2006 to 2031 in Average household size shows differential household size (increase in household population) / (increase in households) Figures are expressed in whole thousands (excluding average household size and % increases) The next update to the 2006-based household projections will be the 2008-based household projections which are expected to be published in late 2010 or early Ethnicity The non-white proportion of Watford s population has increased from 10% in 1991 to 14% in 2001, which is higher than the national average of 9% and reflects Watford s broad mix of cultures. People identifying as Asian or Asian British amount to 8.2% in Watford, as compared with 3% overall in Hertfordshire. People identifying as Black or Black British total 2.7% in Watford as compared with 1.2% in Hertfordshire as a whole (see Table 11). Table 11: Ethnic Composition of Resident Population in percentages WATFORD % HERTS % ENGLAND % White White Irish Mixed Asian or Asian British Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Black or Black British Caribbean African Other Black Chinese/Other Ethnic Source: Figures sourced from Office for National Statistics 2001 Census The Office of National Statistics has produced estimates on how ethnicity of the population has changed since the 2001 census and the chart below illustrates the non-white proportion. Please note that these are experimental statistics only

23 Figure 2: Resident Population Estimates by Ethnic Group (Percentages) Nonwhite persons % Watford % East of England % England Source: Office for National Statistics estimates updated 14 Sep 2009, compiled by Planning Policy, Watford Borough Council, extracted 27 May Crime Community safety remains a high priority with Watford residents. In the Watford Place Survey (Final Issue, 16 October 2009), when asked what Watford residents think makes somewhere a good place to live, the level of crime still comes out as most important, by 60% of respondents, but it was the level of traffic congestion that was identified as most needing improving, followed by road and pavement repairs, activities for teenagers and clean streets before the level of crime was mentioned. However, whilst the majority of residents (91%) feel safe during the day, less than half (47%) feel safe after dark. Table 12: Crime in Watford Number of recorded offences in Watford Watford Watford 07/08 08/09 Violence against the person % +increase or decrease between 07/08 and 08/09 Watford 09/10 % +increase or decrease between 08/09 and 09/ % % Robbery % % Burglaries % % Vehicle Crime % % Source:

24 Home Office statistics in Table 12 show that violence against the person recorded offences have increased by 14% this year, after the 25% decrease last year and robbery, burglaries and vehicle crime levels have all decreased. Watford Borough Council is one of the members of Safer Watford the Watford Community Safety Partnership, whose aim is to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime across the borough. Crime levels appear to be following a trend of mainly decreasing, as illustrated in the accompanying graph. To find out more about Safer Watford visit: Figure 3: Key Crime Statistics in Watford 2007/08 to 2009/10 Number of recorded offences Violence against the person Robbery Burglaries Vehicle Crime Type of crime Watford Watford Watford Source: Compiled by WBC, Planning Policy source data from Deprivation The Government publishes an Index of Multiple Deprivation ( IMD ), the most recent being the IMD This superseded the IMD 2004 and there was some expectation that meaningful comparison between the two datasets would be possible. However, more research is being done on this point and no agreement has yet been reached. The guidance notes from the DCLG website state: The Index scores from 2004 cannot be compared with those from Though the two Indices are very similar, it is not valid to compare the scores between the two time points. Comparing rankings over time can also be dangerous as the rank of any given area is dependent on the scores of all the others so we are not attempting to compare the two indices but are highlighting some results from the IMD There are a number of measures calculated at regional, county and district level from the original scores based on the 32,482 Lower Super Output Areas ( LSOAs ) in England. There are 3550 LSOAs in our region the East of England, 683 LSOAs in the county of Hertfordshire and 53 LSOAs in Watford. For comparison purposes within the IMD 2007, it is clearer and valid to compare rankings (1 being the most deprived) rather than scores

25 To place results for Watford in context, none of the LSOAs in Hertfordshire rank among the most deprived 10% in England and only five rank among the 10% to 20% most deprived. These five are dispersed across five Districts Three Rivers, Stevenage, Hertsmere, Welwyn Hatfield and Broxbourne - none are in Watford. None of the ten districts as a whole rank among the 50% most deprived in England. Stevenage, the most deprived of the ten districts, ranks 191 st out of 354 (among the least 50% deprived). Watford, which is the third most deprived District in Hertfordshire, ranking 18 th out of 48 districts, contains the highest proportion of deprived LSOAs. Three LSOAs rank among the most deprived 10% in the region and nine rank among the 10% to 20% most deprived (see Appendix 3). The most deprived LSOA is in Central ward, north of the Harlequin centre, and ranks 9 th in Hertfordshire. Unusually, all four LSOAs in Central ward come within the worst 20% in Hertfordshire, although LSOAs in this category can be found all over Watford, not just around the centre. Only Nascot, Tudor and Park wards do not have any LSOAs within the worst 25% in the county and only Nascot, Tudor, Park and Vicarage wards do not have any LSOAs within the worst 25% in the East of England region. Separate types of deprivation exist and contribute to the overall deprivation level. Watford is experiencing the highest level of Living Environment deprivation in the county, with seven LSOAs in the 10 most deprived in Hertfordshire in this category, ranking 111 th of 354 local authorities in the country (just out of the most deprived 30%). Ten LSOAs (1.5% of LSOAs in Hertfordshire) were ranked among the most deprived 10% in England as a whole on the Indices of Deprivation 2007 Crime Domain. This includes two LSOAs in Watford, both in Central ward in the town centre. Further more detailed information may be found in the Final Report dated August 2008 Deprivation across Hertfordshire: Analysis for the Sustainable Community Strategy and Local Area Agreement by the Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion, from which much of the information supplied here has been provided Economy Watford is, by national and regional standards a healthy economy. Jobs density is the number of jobs per residents of working age (males aged and females aged 16-59). The total number of jobs used in calculating job density is a workplace-based measure and comprises employee jobs, self-employed, government supported trainees and HM Forces. High job densities are where there is at least one job for every working-age resident, which would be equivalent to 1.0. Historically, Watford has a much higher job density than the county, region and nationally. However, the economic recession has had an effect and Watford has seen a decrease from 1.14 in 2006 and 1.10 in 2007 to 1.04 jobs per working-age resident in 2008 but even so, is the highest job density of all the districts in the county together with Welwyn Hatfield. For comparison, Hertfordshire s job density overall is 0.85, the region s is 0.77 and both England s and Great Britain s is

26 Figure 4: Jobs density from representing the ratio of total jobs to working-age population (includes males and females aged 16-64) 1.30 Job Density Year Watford Herts Eastern GB Data Source: Crown Copyright. Office for National Statistics. November N.B. Watford and GB values are labelled on the above chart Jobs density the number of jobs per resident of working age The total number of jobs is a workplace-based measure and comprises employees, self-employed, government-supported trainees and HM Forces. The number of working age resident figures used to calculate jobs densities are based on the relevant mid-year population estimates. Since August 2010, the working age population definition changed to include females aged 60-64, so job density proportions will have been adjusted downwards. This has also been applied retrospectively to historic data. With regard to employee jobs only, the Annual Business Inquiry 2008 shows that over half the number of employee jobs in Watford is split between two main groups - the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector (31%) and the Distribution, Hotels and Restaurants sector (29%). The Public Admin sector in Watford with 17% of employee jobs was one of the smallest in the county in 2007, but it experienced the only increase (700) in employee jobs between 2007 and 2008, giving it an 18% share. In Watford, employee jobs overall, 51,500 (rounded to the nearest 100), decreased by 1000 (1.9%) since the previous year in The decrease in the number of employee jobs in Watford since 2007 was mainly attributed to the fall in Construction (11.8%), Transport (10.7%) and Manufacturing (8.3%) sectors. Major employers in the district include Haden Young Ltd, Mirror Colour Print Watford Ltd, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Tesco Stores Ltd, Watford Borough Council, J Sainsbury Plc, Total UK Ltd, John Lewis Watford and Royal Mail (Watford) Sorting and Delivery Office. Watford has an established office market concentrated around Clarendon Road in the town centre, with easy access via Watford Junction

27 Figure 5: Number of Employee Jobs by Industry Groups Watford 2008 Data Source: Annual Business Inquiry (2008) Nov Watford residents have higher earnings than the regional and national average. In respect of gross weekly pay for full time workers, the median earnings for 2009 of Watford residents are 571, compared to 577 in Hertfordshire and 509 in the East of England region. The differential between earnings in Watford and Hertfordshire as a whole has narrowed over the last few years and for the first time since 2004, Watford residents are earning less than the previous year ( 584 in 2008) and less than Hertfordshire residents overall. Table 13: Earnings by residence - Gross weekly pay all full time workers Watford Herts East of England Source: 2009 ONS Annual Survey of hours and earnings resident analysis, Nov 2010 N.B. Median earnings in pounds for employees living in the area The median earnings for 2009 for full time employees that are working in Watford is 507, lower than for Watford residents, some of whom commute to higher paid areas such as London. The equivalent workplace median earnings for Hertfordshire are 518 and 479 in the Eastern region

28 Table 14: Earnings by workplace Gross weekly pay all full time workers Watford Herts East of England Source: 2009 ONS Annual Survey of hours and earnings workplace analysis, Nov N.B. Median earnings in pounds for employees working in the area VAT registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups and closures. They are an indicator of the level of entrepreneurship and of the health of the business population. Table 15: VAT Registrations/Deregistrations by Industry Watford (numbers) Watford (%) Eastern (%) GB (%) Registrations (325) 400 (10.7) 12.6 (8.9) 9.6 (9.4) 10.2 Deregistrations (280) 295 (9.2) 9.3 (7.1) 7.2 (7.4) 7.3 Stock (at end of year) (3,030) 3, Source: BERR - vat registrations/deregistrations by industry (2007) Nov NB. % is a proportion of stock (at end of year) and figures in brackets are from the 2006 survey There have been mainly positive increases (the amount of start-ups outnumbering the closures) in the overall number of VAT registered businesses for Watford over recent years with a substantial increase in number for 2005, and a small increase in 2006 and again, substantial growth in Table 16: Number of and % change in VAT registered businesses for Watford (2,855) 0.4% (2,845) -0.4% (3,005) 5.6% (3,030) 0.8% (3,175) 4.8% Source: NOMIS, taken from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) via Labour Demand and Supply The claimant count is the number of people claiming Jobseeker s Allowance. The Jobseeker s Allowance (JSA) is payable to people under pensionable age who are available for, and actively seeking, work of at least 40 hours a week. The impact of the recession is clearly visible in Tables 17 and 18, with the total number of claimants in Hertfordshire having more than doubled between April 2008 and April 2010, an actual change of 139.8%. Similar increases have been reflected across the county during this period, including Watford at 158.9%, but it can be seen that the variations between 2009 and 2010 have not been nearly as dramatic, with Watford claimant count increasing from 1,735 persons to 1,854 persons, an increase of 119 persons between , which is less than 7%

29 Table 17: Total Claimant Count and Change Change 2008/10 No. Change 2008/10 % Herts County & Districts Apr 2010 Apr 2009 Apr 2008 Herts 19,892 19,123 8,294 11, BROXBOURNE 2,059 1, , DACORUM 2,726 2,831 1,275 1, EAST HERTS 1,791 1, , HERTSMERE 1,816 1, , NORTH HERTS 2,280 2, , ST ALBANS 1,785 1, , STEVENAGE 2,255 2,074 1,048 1, THREE RIVERS 1,287 1, WATFORD 1,854 1, , WELWYN/HATFIELD 2,039 1, , Data Source: Hertfordshire County Council Unemployment Bulletin for Hertfordshire Apr 10 Almost 70% of the claimants in Watford as at April 2010 have been claiming for less than 6 months and just 13% have been claiming for over 12 months as opposed to 16.6% in the whole of Great Britain. Table 18: JSA claimants by age and duration (April 2010) Watford (numbers) Watford (%) Herts (%) East (%) GB (%) Total 1, By age of claimant Aged Aged , Aged 50 and over By duration of claim Up to 6 1, months Over 6 up to months Over 12 months Source: Office for National Statistics claimant count age and duration N.B. % is a proportion of all JSA claimants for the given area A summary of claimant count for the period in Figure 6 shows how Watford compares against Hertfordshire, the region and Great Britain

30 Figure 6: Claimant Count Comparison Claimant Count Year Watford Hertfordshire East of England Great Britain Data Source: Crown Copyright. Office for National Statistics via HCC Unemployment Bulletins for Hertfordshire April N.B. % is a proportion of resident working age population. N.B. Watford and GB values are labelled on the above chart The Jobcentre plus vacancies are based on the number of live unfilled vacancies notified to them and as such represent a share of vacancies throughout the whole economy. The figures for April 2010 show that there are 3.3 JSA claimants per unfilled job vacancy in Watford, almost half as many as the 6.2 in Great Britain. Table 19: Jobcentre plus vacancies (April 2010) Watford Herts East Great Britain Unfilled jobcentre 564 3,880 23, ,241 vacancies (numbers) Unfilled jobcentre vacancies per 10,000 working age population JSA claimants per unfilled job vacancy Source: Jobcentre Plus vacancies April 2010 summary analysis via N.B. The figures in the table are based on the number of live unfilled vacancies handled by Jobcentre Plus. Coverage relates just to vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus and as such represent a market share of vacancies throughout the whole economy - see website for further notes Education, Skills and Training In Watford, 6% of the resident population were school pupils or full-time students aged years at the time of 2001 Census. This compared with 5.1% of the population in England and Wales. Watford is within the Local Education Authority of Hertfordshire. In the academic year 2008/09, 76.8% of pupils in Watford achieved 5 or more GCSEs graded A* to C,

31 compared to the England average of 69.8%, both increasing from last year s 75.3% and 65.3% respectively. Figure 7: GCSE and equivalent results for young people, all pupils at the end of KS4 achieving 5+ A* - C % of pupils / / / / / / / / / /2006 Year 09/ / / / / /2009 Watford East of England England Data Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families via Qualifications held by the working age population of Watford are given in the following table, together with the East of England and Great Britain for comparison, showing that Watford has a skilled working population. Table 20: Qualifications of working age population (males 16-64, females 16-59) Watford Watford East of Great Britain (numbers) (%) England (%) NVQ4 and 15, above NVQ3 and 26, above NVQ2 and 35, above NVQ1 and 41, above Other 8, qualifications No qualifications 3, Source: ONS Annual Population Survey (Jan 2009-Dec 2009) NB: Definitions of qualification levels: NVQ4 and above: e.g. HND, Degree and Higher Degree level qualifications NVQ3 and above: e.g. 2 or more A levels, advanced GNVQ, NVQ3 NVQ2 and above: e.g. 5 or more GCSEs at grades A-C, intermediate GNVQ, NVQ2 NVQ1 and above: e.g. fewer than 5 GCSEs at grades A-C, foundation GNVQ, NVQ1 Other Qualifications: includes foreign qualifications and some professional qualifications No qualifications: no formal qualifications held

32 The amount of people in Watford holding NVQ4 or above (29.7%) is higher than in the East of England, but in line with Great Britain (29.9%). Similar data was compiled from the 2001 census results and it was apparent then that the 23.07% of people (aged 16-74) with a higher education qualification (NVQ4 and above) in Watford was significantly higher than the 2001 national average of 19.90%. There is now less of a difference in the percentage of people with higher education qualifications between Watford and Great Britain overall, but Watford has a significantly higher proportion (15.6%) of people with other qualifications including foreign qualifications and some professional qualifications, than both the East of England and Great Britain (8.8%) Health In the Place Survey, 44% of residents stated that health services were the most important factor in making somewhere a good place to live (second only to the level of crime) although only 20% thought it was one of the issues that most needed improving. Life expectancy at birth is an important indicator of health. Female life expectancy in Watford stands at 81.3 years, which is the lowest amongst the districts in Hertfordshire and significantly lower than in the East of England region (82.8 years). Among males, Watford also has one of the lowest life expectancy in Hertfordshire at 77.5 years, which is significantly lower than regional or national averages. Figure 8: Life expectancy (years) Watford East of England Average England Average Female Male Life expectancy (years) Source: National Statistics via Hertfordshire Quality of Life Report 2009 Watford has the highest rate of all circulatory disease mortality in Hertfordshire, (at more than per 100,000 standard population as compared to the national average of and regional average of ) and one of the highest rates of deaths in Hertfordshire due to coronary heart disease among both males and females, (69.35 and per 100,000 standard population respectively) which is similar to the national average but more than the East of England average. Watford, along with Hertsmere and North Herts also has the highest rate of mortality in

33 Hertfordshire from all cancers among males, whilst among females, Dacorum has the highest rate. Watford has one of the highest male mortalities in Hertfordshire from chronic liver disease, the highest male alcohol-specific mortality, and the highest level of alcoholrelated admissions in (The above data was sourced from the Hertfordshire Quality of Life Report 2009; more information is available from the report website: ). However, according to the NHS Health Profile 2009, (see the overall health of Watford is generally slightly better than the England average. Over the past ten years rates of deaths from all causes, early deaths from cancer and early deaths from heart disease and stroke have improved and remain similar to the England average. However, violent crime, new cases of tuberculosis and hip fracture in the over 65s appear significantly worse than the England average. The NHS Profile indicates that Health priorities include reducing smoking prevalence, childhood and adult obesity and alcohol misuse. In the Council s Corporate Plan , Corporate Objective 1 is to Improve the health of the town and enhance its heritage. One of the projects to achieve improvement in health is to develop and deliver a sports strategy and action plan for Watford. Many Watford residents are already enjoying the benefits of the new leisure centres, Woodside and Watford Central, illustrated by Watford being ranked first in the country in satisfaction with sport and leisure facilities in the recent Place Survey Ensuring that our leisure centres and also our parks and open spaces are maintained to a high standard all contributes to a potentially healthier town. However, it is recognised that we still need to increase participation in sports and leisure activities amongst our community as this has a positive impact on issues such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. There is also a link in the Council s other aims, for example, tackling problems such as alcohol and drug abuse has a positive impact on health as well as crime levels Built Environment As previously mentioned, one of the corporate objectives includes enhancing the heritage of the town. Current aims are to deliver the Watford Town Centre Cultural Study 2009, which includes consultation and then improvements to the Watford Palace Theatre area and Town Hall subway and to develop and deliver a local arts strategy and action plan for Watford. A major project is the refurbishment of the Watford Colosseum, which has begun this year and will continue during 2011, in order to transform it into a first class entertainment venue. The Colosseum is a statutory listed building and the new foyer extension will be an integral part of the current building but will sit back from the Colosseum s original façade to allow this to retain its importance in the overall composition. The preservation and enhancement of our cultural heritage is important to allow the community and future generations to experience and enjoy it. The Council aims to

34 conserve and enhance the built environment of the town through careful control of development and design, and protection of historic assets. There are a total of 8 Conservation areas and 50 Historic Environment Character Zones in Watford. Listed buildings number 93 and there are over 200 locally listed buildings. The Planning and Development Department has been reviewing the existing conservation areas, preparing area appraisals and management plans for each area in accordance with government advice and evaluating the potential for new areas. In June 2006, a new conservation area was designated in High Street/King Street and following consultation and review, the final High Street/King Street Conservation Area Appraisal document was adopted by Council in March During 12 February to 25 March 2007, public consultation was held on a draft character appraisal document for the existing Watford Heath Conservation Area. The document was revised and the final version was adopted and published in May Between 27 January to 10 March 2009, public consultation was held on draft character appraisal documents for the existing Civic Core and St Mary s Conservation Areas and the final documents were adopted in March During , Conservation Area appraisals for Estcourt and Nascot were being prepared. The draft versions were published for consultation between 5 March and 16 April 2010 and following revision, the final documents were adopted in June This makes a total of 6 character appraisals completed out of the overall 8 Conservation areas. Watford Borough Council is currently working on the character appraisal document for The Square Conservation Area and the Council is also working with Three Rivers Council on the character appraisal document for Grove Mill Conservation Area Street Cleaning and Recycling In the Watford Place Survey , when asked what residents think makes somewhere a good place to live, clean streets came out third in the list (42%) as one of their five most important factors. Watford also conducted a survey with the Citizens Panel in December 2009, which showed that waste and recycling (73%) and street cleaning (61%) were the most valued statutory services whilst community safety (63%) was the non-statutory service that local people most wanted to see delivered to a high standard. We have achieved good performance results for our street cleansing service under National Performance Indicators 195 a, b, c, d Improved Street and environmental cleanliness for levels of litter, detritus, graffiti and fly posting. There were improvements showing for 2008/09 of 5%, 9%, 6% and 1% respectively but in the

35 Place Survey, people s satisfaction did not mirror this good performance, as only 57% of Watford Residents were satisfied with keeping public land clear of litter and refuse, which was on a par with the national result, but not quite as high as the county score of 59%. The council has, in the summer 2010, taken delivery of 12 new vehicles to help with the collection of domestic, green and trade waste across the town. They are a major replacement of the current fleet and offer maximum reliability combined with minimum carbon emissions. The new Euro 5 trucks use modern technology that makes them greener and more fuel efficient. It is estimated that the Council will save 155,000 per annum in reduced leasing costs, maintenance, and hire of replacement vehicles compared to the cost in 2009/

36 5. Local Output Indicators Local output indicators are to be used to address the effects of policies not covered by the core output indicators and of importance locally. Preparation of the evidence base for the LDF indicates that transport/traffic congestion is considered one of Watford s most important local issues, together with affordable decent housing and environmental issues. Thus we are collecting bundles of group indicators related to transport, environment and housing which may be added to or amended as our Core Strategy emerges, but are useful research to assist in ascertaining the effectiveness of our current policies and the development of new policies. For ease of reference, they have been combined with the relevant contextual data Transport Local output indicators are to be used to address the effects of policies not covered by the core output indicators and of importance locally. Preparation of the evidence base for the LDF continues to indicate that this is one of Watford s most important local issues, together with affordable decent housing and environmental issues. Thus we are collecting bundles of indicators related to transport, environment and housing which may be added to or amended as our Core Strategy emerges, but are useful research to assist in ascertaining the effectiveness of our current policies and the development of new policies. For ease of reference, they have been combined with the relevant contextual data. Amount and percentage of completed non-residential development within UCOs A, B and D complying with car-parking standards set out in the Watford District Plan 2000 (WDP 2000) Policy T22 and Appendix 2 in the adopted Watford District Plan 2000 set out Watford s car parking standards, which are based on maximum demand-based parking as set out in Structure Plan Policy 25: Car Parking, and reduced as appropriate in accordance with the principle set out in Hertfordshire County Council Car Parking Supplementary Planning Guidance: Parking in New Development (December 2000). Car parking standards are in place to ensure that appropriate provision is made for car parking in relation to new development or in land use conversions. They are intended to restrict over provision, over capacity and to encourage the use of alternative transport modes

37 Table 21: Percentage of completed non-residential development within UCOs A, B and D complying with car-parking standards set out in the WDP 2000 Use Class Order (UCO) No. of development sites in each UCO Total no. and % of developments complying with maximum car parking standards A1 5 5 A2 3 3 A3 2 2 B1 1 1 B1a 4 4 B1c 1 1 B2 1 1 B8 4 4 D1 3 3 D2 2 2 Total (100%) N.B. Where a Use Class within A, B and D has not been listed, no developments have completed in that category. There have been 26 applicable developments, which have been completed over the monitoring period of 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 and 22 developments utilised existing car parking spaces. Two of the remaining 4 schemes reduced the existing number of car parking spaces and the two which applied for new or additional car parking spaces all complied with the WDP 2000 car parking standards (one of these was a mixed development where the number of spaces was within the maximum allowed for the larger residential element of the development). Accessibility - Percentage of new residential development within 30 minutes public transport time of a GP, hospital, primary and secondary school, employment and a major health centre Accessibility planning is essential to effective spatial planning in order to identify whether people can get to jobs, education, health and other key activities. Accession is government-approved software which was funded by the Department for Transport to enable this and help local planning authorities and other agencies draw together transport, land use and socio-economic information. This software package is a Geographic Information System which is able to address all aspects of travel time and cost mapping using digital road networks and public transport timetable data, and enables specific locations to be mapped and analysed. Hertfordshire County Council, as the highway authority in the county with the main responsibility for transport issues, has been provided with Accession and they use the package on our behalf to input the locations of residential completions for Watford, in order to be able to check for accessibility to services as in the above indicator. The following table shows the results provided by running the program on net residential development for the last five years. The result for this year is that 100% of net residential development is within 30 minutes public transport time of all services, apart from hospitals, the result of which is 89%

38 The 11% of housing completions which were less accessible were all in North Watford in Woodside, Stanborough and Meriden ward, with one address in the northernmost part of Leggatts ward. Table 22: Percentage of new residential development (net completions) within 30 minutes public transport time of services/key activities % of Total Net Dwellings Completed Service/key activity GP 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Hospital 98% 100% 100% 78% 89% Primary 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% school Secondary 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% school Areas of 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% employment Major retail centre 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Data Source: Hertfordshire County Council/Watford Borough Council via Accession software A similar result was found last year with less accessibility to hospitals although there has been some improvement this year. These areas are the furthest away from rail and underground stations and it must be recognised that they are accordingly not quite as accessible in this respect, as other parts of Watford. Results can also be affected because of the particular parameters set and bus/train timetables can change. Vehicle ownership can provide an indication of the prosperity of an area and also the availability of other travel modes. A comparison between the 1991 and 2001 Census shows that average car ownership in Watford has increased from 1.06 per household to 1.21, a rise of 14%, although the average figure is one of the lowest in Hertfordshire bar Stevenage at This could be due to the more urban nature of Watford and Stevenage and better, more frequent public transport than in some of the more rural districts. Both are lower than the overall figure for Hertfordshire, which is 1.34 cars per household. Table 23: Car Ownership - % of households and total cars per household Total cars per No car 1 car 2 cars 3 cars 4+ cars hsehld Watford 21.0% 45.4% 27.1% 5.0% 1.5% 1.21 Herts 17.7% 42.0% 31.6% 6.6% 2.2% 1.34 Data Source: 2001 Census, ONS Watford has the highest employed resident population 41,609 (all people aged in employment who are usually resident in the area) and workplace population 49,254 (all people aged who are in employment and whose usual place of work is in the area) of all the settlements in Hertfordshire. The number of people both living and working in Watford is 20,732, which is 49.4% of the employed resident population and 41.8% of the workplace population. There are

39 28,411 people working in Watford and living elsewhere, 37% more than the 20,731 people that live in Watford and work elsewhere. Table 24: Method of travel to work - Watford Employed Resident Population of Watford Workplace Population of Watford Method of Travel Number % of Total Number % of Total Home Works mainly 3, , at or from home Public Underground 1, Transport Train 2, , Bus etc 1, , Car Car driver or 25, , passenger Other Bicycle , On foot 5, , Other Total 41, , Source: Census 2001 Workplace Table W203 Watford has the highest net in-commuting in Hertfordshire (the difference between employed resident population and workplace population) at 7,736 persons. Over 60% of people travel into work in Watford by car, either as a car driver or passenger, which contributes to the problem of traffic congestion in Watford (see Table 26). The level of traffic congestion was identified as most needing improving, followed by road and pavement repairs in the Watford Place Survey The Hertfordshire County Travel Survey (HCTS) 2009 identified the three highest first priorities for residents are maintaining existing roads, improving bus and rail facilities and reducing traffic congestion. These issues were also the three issues identified as the most important in the HCTS 2005 survey. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is the highway authority for all public roads in the county except the motorway and trunk road network, which is the responsibility of the Highways Agency (executive arm of the Department for Transport). The Traffic Management Act 2004 places a statutory duty upon HCC to tackle congestion by obtaining the best use of the existing network, managing the growth of traffic and developing an efficient transport system. Road congestion and traffic growth are closely associated. A large element of the motorway and trunk road network is of a long-distance nature so a comparison of traffic on just Hertfordshire County Council controlled roads (which excludes these) provides a measure of locally generated traffic change. Between 2003 and 2007 traffic levels remained steady in the county as a whole in contrast to national traffic levels which have experienced year on year growth. There has been an overall decrease in traffic levels between 2008 and 2009 of around 1.6% across Hertfordshire

40 Table 25: % Change in Total Vehicle Kilometreage on HCC roads in Watford % -0.6 % Source: Hertfordshire s Traffic and Transport Data Reports 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 N.B. HCC roads Hertfordshire County Council controlled roads, which excludes motorway and trunk roads; + denotes an increase and denotes a decrease in traffic flow levels. Between 2008 and 2009, there was an increase of 1.77% on local roads in Watford, which may be attributable to diversion of traffic onto the local network to avoid the new M25 widening works. In most other districts in Hertfordshire, traffic flows on the local network (HCC roads) decreased. The latest predictions from the Department of Transport s (DfT), National Trip End Model (TEMPRO version 6.2 dataset 5.4), indicate that car traffic growth in Hertfordshire is now expected to grow at a slower rate than the national average or the East of England region, although Hertfordshire overall already has one of the highest levels of car ownership in the country. There is considerable variation between districts in the predicted growth levels from the base year of These higher levels of traffic growth take into account the proposed increase in the number of new households and jobs that were identified within the East of England Regional plan. Stevenage has the highest predicted growth rate in traffic at 2021 (20.2%) and Three Rivers has the lowest at 2021 (8%). Watford s traffic is predicted to grow by 1.9% by 2011 and 11.7% by In 2008 the government published a list of national performance indicators. One of these related to a Congestion Target (NI167). Hertfordshire County Council is following the preferred methodology for non-metropolitan authorities and is using the following indicator: Vehicle journey time per mile during the morning peak on major inbound routes in the large urban centres, weighted by the relative traffic flow on those different routes. To ensure consistency with other plans the main urban centres are those designated as Key Centres for Development and Change or Regional Transport Nodes in the East of England Plan and are Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Stevenage, Watford and Welwyn Garden City/Hatfield. Bishop s Stortford has also been included (due to nearby potential growth at Stansted Airport). Journey time information from in-vehicle GPS devices has been supplied by the DfT, and has been analysed to identify baseline journey time figures for the September 2007 July 2008 academic year. Data for the following academic year has also been analysed and shows a decrease in journey times between 2008 and Overall there has been a decrease in AM journey times by 3.3% across the county as a whole and a decrease of 3.6% in Watford. Congestion task groups have been set up for the main urban areas to reduce the impacts of congestion by reviewing and co-ordinating all relevant activities (in terms of highway design and the mitigation of impacts from new developments) in addition to identifying key pressure points in the network and suggesting potential engineering solutions for inclusion in future work programmes. Walking, cycling and public transport are important elements of the transport agenda making a contribution to a sustainable transport system. By increasing the

41 attractiveness of sustainable transport methods, there is a real potential to reduce reliance on the car. In the 2001 census, figures showed that Watford had a much higher proportion of residents walking to work than any other district in Hertfordshire (13.3%) and higher than the county average (1.8%) of those travelling to work by bicycle at 2.3%. Table 26: Travel to Work Mode Share by Watford residents Bus, Car Rail/ Tube Minibus, Coach Motorcycle Walk Bicycle Other Works at home 2001 census County travel survey N.B. Working at home comparisons are not comparable due to differences in the classification of home workers in the census and the survey. However, the 2009 County Travel Survey showed almost two thirds (66%) of journeys to work by Watford residents were made by car (only 1% of those as a passenger), 20% of respondents used public transport (train, bus or underground) and 11% walked or cycled. Although the 2009 survey involved sending out 42,000 questionnaires to a representative sample of households across all ten districts in the county, out of 1,652 questionnaires distributed in Watford, 284 questionnaires were returned for the urban area, so at district level, this is a small sample of residents. At county level, results showed that 63% of journeys to work were made by car as a driver, 23% of respondents used public transport (increasing from 19% in 2005) and 11% walked or cycled (increasing from 9% in 2005). The 2005 survey showed that the highest levels of walking to work were found in Watford (18%). Walking was also the second most popular mode for food shopping (after car) and again the highest levels of walking to shops were found among Watford residents. However, the 2009 survey showed that walking to work levels had dropped to 9%. Further analysis of the data would be required by HCC in order to find out details of the trips that people were undertaking in Watford, as compared with Since the late 1960s, national cycling levels have been less than a quarter of the level of In both the 2005 and 2009 County Travel survey, overall 43% of adults surveyed owned a usable bicycle. Despite relatively high levels of ownership bicycles account for less than 2% share for usual work, food shopping and school journeys across the county. This is consistent with the 2001 Census which found that 1.8% of journeys to work were by bike in Hertfordshire, and 2.3% in Watford. Although the travel diary provides useful information on cycling behaviour it is difficult to accurately ascertain overall levels of cycling from the information because of the reliance on a small sample of residents recording their behaviour on one day of travel

42 Watford does not have an actual target at local level, but there have been four sites in Watford continuously monitored with automatic counters, with a one day manual count to validate the equipment (see Table 27). Table 27: Watford s cycle route usage annual number of trips and % change Site Year Site 1 Town Hall % change annually Site 2 Radlett Rd % change annually Site 3 Dalton Way % change annually Site 4 Ebury Way % change annually ,180-29,288-5,768-20, , % 39, % 9, % 30, % , % 32, % 11, % 37, % , % 38, % 12, % 42, % , % 46, % 17, % 45, % , % 45,240-2% 18, % 48, % % change from to % 54.5% 221.8% 131.9% Data source: Watford Borough Council, Transport and Projects Section NB. Percentages rounded to nearest one decimal place As can be seen from the above table, usage has increased at all sites over the last five years. We have been unable to obtain data for due to staff restructuring, with some responsibilities such as the cycling monitoring transferring to Hertfordshire County Council. This has not yet been fully implemented but HCC already undertake cycling monitoring at 18 sites in the county and cover two sites in Watford, on which we can provide the information in the following table, which shows little change in usage over the past year. Table 28: Watford s cycle route usage cyclists per day and annual % change Hempstead Tolpits Lane, Rd end of Ebury Way town by cycle track % change subway % change under bridge annually Town Centre annually Data collection dates 04/2008- Data collection dates 08/ / / / % Data Source: Hertfordshire s Traffic and Transport Data Report 2008 and 2009 N.B. Data only available for periods quoted rather than April March period. 11/ / / % HCC s current Local Transport Plan (LT2) currently sets a target of increasing cycling levels in the County by 11% over the plan period of 2006/07 to 2010/11 and the target increase has been achieved across the county, with a more challenging target being considered in the preparation of the next Local Transport Plan (LTP3). Watford Borough Council has been strongly committed to encouraging the use of cycles by developing a safe network of useable routes and improved storage facilities in Watford. One of the ways that Watford Borough Council has measured their success is by trying to implement 3.8km of cycle route per annum. Since 2003/04,

43 14.1km of new cycle route has been delivered in support of Policy T9 and the Cycling Strategy (see Table 29) and further new cycle route is planned for 2010/11. Table 29: Annual output for cycle routes in Watford 2003/ / / / / / /10 4.3Km 6.1km 1.3km 0.5km 0km 1.9km 0km Source: Watford Borough Council However, apart from the cycle route target, there does appear to be a lack of quantifiable targets with regard to transport at local level in order to be able to assess whether policies are working and this may need to be rectified when the Core Strategy is developed. An HCC initiative called TravelSmart is a project offering households information and support in order to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport more often. The first project in Hertfordshire started in Watford in 2008 and ran until 2010 with the aim of reducing car use and encouraging healthier lifestyles. A total of 11,543 households were successfully contacted in the initial phases of the TravelSmart Individualised Travel Marketing project, and offered information such as local walking maps, cycling maps and bus timetables as well as a discount card. The Watford projects interim survey results (covering a target group net sample of over 1200 persons) showed a relative 12% reduction in car as driver trips across the target population, with a relative increase in levels of walking (14%), cycling (36%) and public transport use (9%). These reductions represent the change in overall trips per person per year, rather than a reduction in the overall share of transport mode of choice. The reductions in car use and increases in sustainable travel modes occurred most often between 9am and 3pm and were most apparent for shopping and personal business trips, followed by work trips, with half as much reduction. Watford Borough Council has also brought into practice a Green Travel Plan (to be reviewed in 2010) for the Council, which sets out a comprehensive programme of initiatives to encourage and support green travel. Some of the things that we have already implemented include the establishment of in September 2006, a car and journey sharing partnership with other major employers in the town. A range of incentives have been provided for Council staff to encourage the use of sustainable travel modes such as discounted season tickets for bus travel; interest free loans for train and bus season tickets and for bike purchase; an improved bike pool for business use; staff showers and lockers and pool vehicles. Staff car parking charges have been introduced for all staff in central Watford, apart from essential car users, from April 2007 and the money raised is allocated to pay for the Green Travel Plan incentives. A survey was undertaken in April 2010 to discover the changes in travel choice which showed that staff travelling by car alone had reduced from 64% in 2007 to 44% in 2010; car share increased from 4% to 14% and all more sustainable travel mode use increased e.g. train/tube use from 3% to 12%. With an increase in walking, cycling, public transport and car share, together with a reduction to single occupancy car use

44 by staff, this is beginning to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to local and national targets. The Council, in partnership with Hertfordshire Highways has been working to deliver the South West Herts Transport Plan, which was finalised and adopted in November The overall aims are to reduce congestion, enable infrastructure to support existing and proposed development, achieve a shift to more sustainable modes of travel, minimise the environmental impact of transport provision and to make the roads safer. More information can be found in the document which is available on For information purposes, major developments which have been identified in or near Watford are the Croxley Rail Link, Watford Junction, Watford Health Campus and Charter Place. Watford Junction is a scheme to improve the railway station, road and transport facilities together with new residential development. The key parties include Watford Borough Council, HCC, Network Rail, Waterford Park (a joint venture between Redrow and Blackfriars Investments) and HSBC Pensions, who have been in dialogue over the last 18 months with a view to resolving the many complex issues. One of the key issues facing the project is the question of public funding for infrastructure and public transport improvements, and the consortium is awaiting the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review as to the provision of the new Colonial Way link road. The Croxley Rail Link is a scheme to extend the London Underground Metropolitan line from Croxley to Watford Junction, via Watford High Street. HCC is the lead promoter; the proposals are currently in the design phase and are being developed with the aim of having trains running along the new track by It is anticipated two new stations will be opened along the route. Ascot Road station, where it is planned to have car parking facilities, will serve the local community and provide a valuable new transport link for businesses in the area. A second station will be sited to serve the existing Watford Hospital, the football ground and the planned Health Campus. For more information, please see The Watford Health Campus In 2008, outline planning permission was conditionally granted by Watford Borough Council, subject to the signing of a planning obligation/section 106, for a Health Campus in West Watford. The planning obligation/section 106 agreement was signed in 2010 and provides for a potential contribution of over 2m from the Campus to substantially increase and enhance facilities and support services within the West Watford area. The project is to include the development of a new major acute hospital, residential, commercial, business accommodation, leisure facilities and a new combined heat and power plant on a 26.5 hectare site, as well as some green space

45 The application includes a new access road from Wiggenhall Road over the line of the proposed Croxley Rail Link. The site entrance would be connected in turn to the Dalton Way gyratory system by a new Link Road, which is expected to be one of the first pieces of major infrastructure to be completed for the Campus. It is anticipated that the Campus Project Team will appoint a development partner towards the end of 2011 and that the construction of the link road will be started shortly afterward. The Health Campus is a significant but long term project. The applicant s programme anticipates an overall construction programme of eleven years leading to the completion of the main building elements. For more information, please see Charter Place The redevelopment of Charter Place is necessary in order to upgrade and compete with other regional shopping centres. Watford Borough Council has appointed (July 2010) a development partner, London & Regional (L&R) which is one of the largest private property companies in Europe, experienced and capable of delivering the scheme both logistically and financially. The Council and L & R will undertake consultation prior to beginning scheme design and planning negotiations. Subject to scheme viability, the Council and L & R aim to sign a Development Agreement which will allow the partnership to submit a planning application and start assembling the site ready for construction. It is envisaged that construction will commence in 2013 and complete in Data sources for Transport Local Output Indicators: Watford Borough Council; Census 1991 and 2001; Hertfordshire s Traffic & Transport Data Reports, annually ; Hertfordshire County Travel Surveys 2005 and

46 5.2. Environment Air Quality Traffic levels can have an adverse effect on the air we breathe and our Environmental Services Department carries out regular monitoring on traffic pollutant emissions. The Council completed an assessment in 2004, ultimately ratified by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which suggested that there were likely to be six areas where the annual mean objective for Nitrogen Dioxide, contained in the Government s National Air Quality Strategy, were unlikely to be met. It was then determined whether any residential premises were situated in these areas and after the public exposure assessment, a period of public consultation was undertaken and on 17 February 2006, the following 6 Air Quality Management Areas were declared: 1. St Albans Road 2. Vicarage Road 3. Aldenham Road 4. Chalk Hill 5. A405/Horseshoe Lane 6. M1/Meriden In 2009 the Council completed a further assessment of the air quality within these AQMAs. This study suggested that the boundaries of some of the AQMAs may have to change, particularly around the Bushey Arches junction and the Hornets Interchange (AQMAs 2, 3 and 4). Work is now underway to confirm the precise location of the new boundaries. In partnership with Hertfordshire County Council, a plan to improve Air Quality in the AQMAs is being developed. It is hoped that work on implementing any measures in the action plan will commence early in Local Authorities have to reassess air quality in their Districts on a regular basis, and compare the current and predicted concentrations of 7 pollutants against the national objectives every four years. The 2007 review, known as an Updating and Screening Assessment was completed in August 2007 and then ratified by DEFRA. It did not identify any areas of concern other than those previously mentioned. In 2010 another Updating and Screening Assessment was completed. Initial findings suggest that locations close to Pinner Road, Chalk Hill and Farraline Road will continue to exceed National Quality Objectives. These locations are all within revised boundaries of the Air Quality Action Areas. The amount (in hectares) and percentage of total open space managed to Green Flag Award standards The Green Flag Award is the national standard for parks and green spaces in England and Wales. The award scheme began in 1996 as a means of recognising and rewarding the best green spaces in the country. It was also seen as a way of encouraging others to achieve the same high environmental standards, creating a benchmark of excellence in recreational green areas

47 The total open space managed by the Council has been calculated to be currently hectares, and the amount managed to Green Flag Award standards, as listed in the table below is hectares which is 39% of the total. There have not been any further areas added during to those managed to the standard since the additions last year of Goodwood Recreation Ground, St. Mary s Churchyard and Woodside Playing Fields. However, the total amount has been slightly amended following the completion of the mapping of all open spaces into GIS; the difference being slight shows that the previous manual estimates were fairly accurate. Various areas of open space are currently being improved; Callowland Recreation Ground, North Watford Cemetery and Vicarage Cemetery are approaching the standard, other areas such as Radlett Road Playing Fields, Knutsford Playing Fields and Waterfields Recreation Ground are less advanced in the process. The Council has retained the three formal accreditations of the Green Flag award, Cassiobury Park, Woodside Playing Fields/Alban Wood and Cheslyn Gardens and we intend to continue to apply for these in following years. The Green Spaces Strategy was adopted by Cabinet on the 9 October 2006, and encompassed the aim of raising the quality of all our parks up to Green Flag Award standard within the following five years, although it was never the intention to make formal applications for all our parks, as it would be too costly and time consuming. The Green Spaces Strategy will start to be reviewed in 2011 with a revised strategy due to be in place for The new strategy will take account of new knowledge gained through Planning Policy Guidance 17 (PPG17) and management of our parks and will need to take into account any change in resources. Table 30: Amount (hectares) of eligible open spaces managed to Green Flag Award standard measurements revised measurements (per GIS) Alban Woods Lairage Land Harebreaks Woods Cassiobury Park Garston Park Nature Reserve Cheslyn Gardens Woodside Playing Fields (exc Alban Wood) Goodwood Recreation Ground St.Mary s Churchyard Total N.B. See for criteria of the Green Flag Award N.B. Figures have been rounded to two decimal points The mapping of all Watford s open spaces into GIS as part of the PPG17 study has been completed (September 2010) and analysis will take place over the next few months to quantify deficiencies and set priorities. This will in turn inform the review of

48 the Green Spaces Strategy. The importance of open space in Watford s urban environment is recognised and protected by the existing planning policies L4: Open Space Protection, L5: Playing Fields, L6: Provision of Additional Open Space, L8: Open Space Provision in Housing Development, L11: Maintenance of Open Spaces, Play Areas and Pocket Parks and L12 Allotments Housing House prices in Watford, have seen a sharp decrease along with the rest of the country, as shown in the graph of Mean House Prices, although house prices appear to be picking up again at least in Watford and Hertfordshire. Figure 9: Mean house prices first quarter 2001 to first quarter 2010 Prices 350, , , , , ,000 50, England East Hertfordshire Watford Data source: Compiled by Watford Borough Council, Planning Policy, based on quarterly Land Registry data (figures for first quarter 2010 are provisional) The average house price in Watford is showing an increase of 1.7% between the last quarter of 2009 and the last quarter of 2008 as opposed to a decrease of 10.3% from the same time in 2007 to 2008, and average prices for semi-detached and terraced houses in Watford have increased during However, average prices for flats and maisonettes are still decreasing although by a much slimmer margin of 3.6% as opposed to the fall of 16.8% experienced in ; detached houses are also showing a decrease but they also have the least number of sales to average

49 Table 31: Average house prices in Watford, Oct-Dec quarter and % change year on year Watford Detached Av. Price Semi- Detached Av. Price Terraced Av. Price Flat/Maisonette Av. Price Overall Av. Price Oct-Dec , , , , ,237 Oct-Dec 2005 % change Oct-Dec 2006 %change Oct-Dec 2007 % change Oct-Dec 2008 % change Oct-Dec 2009 & change , % 449, % 538, % 510, % 491, % 245, % 273, % 299, % 255, % 294, % 197, % 219, % 235, % 212, % 216, % 169, % 169, % 201, % 168, % 162, % 226, % 231, % 250, % 224, % 228, % Data Source: Compiled by Watford Borough Council, Planning Policy from quarterly Land Registry data N.B. Percentages have been rounded to nearest decimal point Apr- Jun 2008 Jul- Sep 2008 Oct- Dec 2008 Jan- Mar 2009 Apr- Jun 2009 Jul- Sep 2009 Oct- Dec 2009 Table 32: Average house prices and volumes of sales all properties in Watford Detached Sales Semi- Sales Terraced Sales Flat/Mais Sales Total Total detached onette Averages Sales 512, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Data source: Land Registry

50 Table 32 shows house prices in more detail, showing the fluctuations for each quarter over There is a mostly increasing trend in the volume of sales, with total sales having doubled during Oct-Dec 2009 compared to the same time in Property purchase remains out of reach of many first-time buyers. Generally, most first-time buyers struggle to save a deposit and historically, they have been allowed by the major banks and societies to provide a minimum 5% deposit. However, with present day levels of housing prices, funding the mortgage payments remains unaffordable for many and first-time buyers have to produce larger deposits, often with the help of parents. For example, the median gross weekly pay of a full-time worker resident in Watford is , (Source: Annual survey of hours and earnings resident analysis 2009) which equates to an annual gross salary of 29,712.80, far below the minimum required to fund a 90% mortgage of even a flat or maisonette at the general rule of thumb of 3.5 times salary (average price 162,016, 90% mortgage would be 145,814 and annual income required would be 41,661). Before the recession, some people were lent up to four and a half or five times income by lending institutions but mortgage lenders have become more prudent with their lending and will not offer the higher multiples as a result of the current financial situation, hence the term credit crunch. However, housing has become relatively more affordable over the last two years; the ratio of median house prices to median earnings for Watford has reduced from the high of 9.49 in 2007, to 8.68 in 2008 and now 7.47 in 2009, which is almost back to 2003 levels (Table 577, Figure 10: Annual Income required to fund 90% mortgage at three and a half times salary in respect of average property prices in Watford Oct-Dec Annual Income Detached Semi-detached Terraced Flat/Maisonette Property Type Original Data Source: (Mortgage/income calculations by Planning Policy, WBC assuming 3.5 times salary allowed)

51 Within Watford, 73 per cent of households live in owner-occupied accommodation, which is the same figure for Hertfordshire, with 13.7% in local authority housing; slightly less than the 14.4% for the county overall (see Table 33). Table 33: Households and Tenure Total Hseholds Average Hsehold Owner Occupied Local Authority Housing Assoc. Private Rented Other Size HERTS 420, % 14.4% 4.4% 6.1% 2.5% WATFORD 32, % 13.7% 2.5% 9.0% 1.8% Source: Office for National Statistics 2001 Census The housing completion trends by size and broad type have been summarised for in Table 34 and Figure 11: Table 34: Watford Gross Housing Completions by type and no. of bedrooms Dwelling Type Number of Bedrooms Unknown Total by type Total houses - all types inc. bungalows Total flats - all types Total by Bedrooms % of All Completions 1 April '01-31 Mar % 50.7% 8.7% 5.4% 2.2% 0.9% 100% Data Source: Planning Policy, WBC and HCC NB: Gross completions are total housing completions before any losses are taken into account (e.g. two semidetached houses demolished and replaced by 8 flats would count as 8 gross completions or six net completions) This shows that more than 50% of the properties that have been built over this period are two bedrooms, more than 32% are one bedroom and fewer than 17% are three bedrooms or more. An increasing trend is that more flats than houses have been built, and flat building peaked in Watford at 89% in 2007 (see Figure 11). The percentage of flats being built has tended to decrease since 2007, to a low of 79% in 2009, slightly increasing again to 83% in

52 Figure 11: Watford Housing Completions (gross) by grouped size and type, by year, Watford Gross Completions % by Grouped Size and Type, by Year, % 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% House 1 or 2 bed 8% 7% 10% 10% 1% 1% 2% 3% 1% House 3+ bed 23% 16% 21% 23% 11% 10% 10% 18% 15% Flat 1 or 2 bed 69% 75% 69% 67% 86% 88% 85% 79% 82% Flat 3+ bed 0% 2% 0% 0% 1% 1% 3% 0% 1% Data Source: Planning Policy, WBC and HCC We can see that the majority of properties built since 2002 are two bedroom and mostly flats. The 2001 census did not require information on number of bedrooms the question asked was number of habitable rooms (not including bathrooms). Therefore, it is difficult to make comparisons with the existing housing stock in 2001 as regards number of bedrooms. However, we can approximately compare how much of Watford s housing stock has changed between the broad types of flats and houses we have added the gross number of homes completed in Watford between to the stock figures from the 2001 census (3,103+33,352=36,455), and have calculated that the percentage of flats has increased from 26.70% to 31.3% (2,505+8,905=11,410/36,455). Table 35: Household Spaces Total Detached Hsehold Spaces HERTS 430,304 96, % WATFORD 33,352 3, % Semi- Detached 124, % 10, % Source: Office for National Statistics 2001 Census Terraced Flats etc. Non-permanent Accommodation 126, % 10, % 80, % 8, % 2, % % The increase couched in these terms does not appear so disproportionate, but it is as well to remember that Watford did have a significantly higher proportion of flats to start with in 2001 at 26.7%, compared to Hertfordshire at 18.7% (see Table 35), and also England and Wales at 19.2%. It has been shown that there are relatively few

53 three bedroom or more properties that have been built over the last nine years, even taking into account the increased percentage of three bedroom homes in 2009 and 2010, 18% and 15% respectively, from the low of 10% in 2007 and The most recent 2006-based household projections estimate household sizes will reduce consistently in Watford to 2.23 by 2031, whereas the average household size in the 2001 census was However, the most recent 2008-based population projections estimate that the population of Watford will increase by nearly 23% between 2008 and Percentage of new dwellings (not including conversions) completed, by net density The Government has amended Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) with the following changes: The national indicative minimum density of 30 dwellings per hectare is deleted from paragraph 47. Private residential gardens are now excluded from the definition of previously developed land in Annex B Together these changes emphasise that it is for local authorities and communities to take the decisions that are best for them, and decide for themselves the best locations and types of development in their areas. Saved policy H12 (Housing Density Standards) of the Watford District Plan 2000 sets a minimum density of 30 dpha for sites greater than 0.05 hectares, it also encourages higher densities in sustainable locations such as the town centre and close to passenger transport links. Densities will vary according to the accessibility of locations, with the highest densities around the town centre and strategic sites. Housing development will be required to make efficient use of land but the density of new development should be in keeping with the character of the area appraisals and support the development of sustainable, balanced communities. As can be seen from Table 36, the average density for equates to 80 dwellings per hectare, and can be compared to the previous four years

54 Table 36: Percentage of new dwellings (gross) completed by net density District New Dwellings (Gross excluding conversions) Net Dev. Area Avg. Density (DpHa) No. of dwellings less than 30 dpha % of dwellings less than 30 dpha No. of dwellings between 30 and 50 dpha % of dwellings between 30 and 50 dpha No. of dwellings greater than 50 dpha % of dwellings greater than 50 dpha % 20 4% % % 13 6% % % 8 3% % % 69 26% % % 73 15% % Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC and Information Management Unit, HCC N.B. Please note these figures relate to new dwellings completed and exclude conversions for the purposes of density calculations Percentages may not sum 100% due to rounding Dpha = dwellings per hectare

55 6. Core Output Indicators In July 2008 the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published guidance (Core Output Indicators Update 2/2008), amending the original core output indicators (Appendix 4 highlights the key changes). We have tried to provide data that would comply with both old and new indicators in this report, explaining which have been removed, replaced or just basically renamed, to ensure clarity and consistency Business Development The following data on business development includes newly built floorspace as well as information concerning changes of land use to and from employment. Employment type is defined by planning Use Class Orders: B1 Business, encompassing: B1 (a) Offices (other than those permitted in class A2 Financial and Professional Services) B1 (b) Research and development B1 (c) Light industry B2 General Industrial carrying out an industrial process other than within class B1 B8 Storage or Distribution B0 - used to indicate where a mix of 'B' Uses granted permission. The Government replaced the original six Core Output Indicators ( COI ) on Business Development, numbered 1a 1f with four Core Output Indicators BD1 BD4 in The DCLG has specified that figures should be quoted for gross internal floorspace which should be measured in square metres (sq.m.) and have provided a revised definition as follows: Gross internal floorspace is the entire area inside the external walls of a building and includes areas such as corridors, lifts, plant rooms, mezzanines, services accommodation e.g. toilets but excludes internal walls. For reference, the percentage difference between gross external and gross internal floorspace has been defined as 3.75%. Information is sometimes not provided or was not previously recorded on the subtypes of B1 (Business) use class, so the breakdown of use classes cannot always be accurately supplied. However, where it has been possible to identify sub-types, these are quoted separately in the following tables, and do not form part of the total given for B1. Please note that before 1 st April 2007, sites below 235sqm were not included in monitoring information provided by Hertfordshire County Council. This threshold has been discontinued, but will still apply to historical data. However, there is some doubt about the reliability of monitoring beneath this threshold, given that some changes of use below 235 sq.m. do not need planning permission so local councils may not be aware of such changes

56 Saved policies E1, E2, E3, E5, E6 and E8 in the Watford District Plan 2000 deal with safeguarding employment provision. BD1 (i): Total amount (sq.m.) of additional employment floorspace in Watford by type Table 37: Total amount (sq.m.) of additional employment floorspace in Watford by type (BD1 (i)) Plan Use Class Gain Completed In Year Loss Completed In Year Net Completed in Year B B B1a B1b B1c B B Totals Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC N.B. Category B1a is also captured under BD4 where the same figure is quoted. Table 37 (BD1) illustrates the total gain and loss of employment floorspace (Gross internal floorspace in square metres sq.m.) by type (Use Class) within Watford, completed during the year. There has been a gross gain of 4,152 sq.m. and an overall net gain of employment floorspace in Watford of 1,196 sq.m. as per the above table which gives detailed figures per Use Class. This follows net losses to employment floorspace for the previous three years (see Appendix 13). 39% of the overall gross gain was changes of use between B classes and just over 60% was real gain to employment including 1,612 sq.m. of new B8 (storage/distribution) units; 750 sq.m. gain to B1a (offices) and 2 small extensions to existing office space. With regard to the gross loss, 73% comprised changes of use between employment uses, the remainder being made up of various relatively small losses resulting in 7 new dwellings and 2 new shops

57 BD1 (ii) Total amount of additional employment floorspace in employment areas by type (This indicator is no longer mandatory local authorities can choose whichever policy areas need to be included under BD1 within the new Core Output Indicators - we are intending to continue to monitor employment areas by this indicator) There are seven main blocks of land identified as employment areas within the Watford District Plan 2000 where the Council seeks to protect the land for employment use (saved policy E1) and Table 38 shows the amount of floorspace developed in those areas, which was 66% of the total employment floorspace developed in Watford. Table 38: Total amount of additional employment floorspace in employment areas - by type (BD1 (ii)) Plan Use Class Gain Completed In Year Loss Completed In Year Net Completed in Year B B B1a B1b B1c B B Totals Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC The bulk of the losses in employment areas were changes of use within the B use classes; 560 sq.m. of the loss to B8 was a change of use to part of a building from a warehouse to a skills training centre, which was deemed to be an acceptable use in the designated employment area and complying with the aims of the policy E1. BD2: Total amount (sq.m.) of employment floorspace on Previously Developed Land ( PDL ) - by type (Use Class) Previously developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings) see Annex B of PPS3 for a full definition. As reported by CLG on 9 th June 2010, the definition of previously developed land as quoted in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) has been changed to exclude private residential gardens. However, this change in definition does not impact upon any data contained in the AMR 2010, which is based on the period 1 st April 2009 to 31st March BD2 (i) Total amount of employment floorspace on PDL - by type The gross and net gains for employment floorspace on previously developed land are detailed in Table

58 Table 39: Total amount of employment floorspace (sq.m.) on PDL by type (BD2 (i)) Plan Use Class Gain Completed In Year Loss Completed In Year Net Completed in Year B B B1a B1b B1c B B Totals Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC BD2 (ii) Percentage of gross floorspace developed for employment on PDL - by type Given the urban nature of the borough it is to be expected that most development takes place on previously developed land, and we can see (compare the identical amounts quoted in Table 39 with those quoted in Table 37) that 100% of employment development within Watford took place on previously developed land. Table 40: Percentage of gross floorspace (sq.m.) developed for employment on PDL by type (BD2 (ii)) Plan Use Class Total Gain in Year Gain Completed In Year on PDL % Gain in Year on PDL by UCO B % B % B1a % B1b 0 0 0% B1c % B % B % Totals % Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC BD3 Employment land available by type BD3 (i) Employment land available by type - sites defined and allocated in the LDF/Local Plan Within the broad scope of the Employment Areas, there is a defined site allocated in the Watford District Plan 2000 for employment, which is Key Development Site number RA6. This site encompasses 14.8 hectares, and more information can be found in the Watford Junction Brief, published by Watford Borough Council, dated April

59 BD3 (ii) Employment land available by type - sites for which planning permission has been granted (but not implemented) Table 41: Employment land available by type - sites for which planning permission has been granted (but not implemented) in hectares (BD3 (ii)) Gain Use Class Outstanding Fl/sp Area (Ha) Types of development e.g. B Demolition of warehousing & erection of mixed B1/B2/B8 uses B sq.m. relates to Leavesden Studios- COU from flight shed to film studios B1a Total is comprised of 17 applications: over 11,000 sq.m. is replacement offices; remainder is comprised of redevelopment, COU and small extensions B1b Extension to dental lab B1c Bulk of total comprised of extensions; 309 sq.m. is cou from warehouse to business use B ,116 sq.m. COU from warehouse; 690 sq.m. COU from car showroom to tyre and exhaust centre; remaining COU of vehicle repair & tyre centre to include MOT B Total is comprised of 11 applications: 5119 sq.m. COU from industrial to warehouse and offices; 1438 sq.m. consists of extensions or new storage buildings; remainder mostly COU within B use classes Totals Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC N.B. COU = change of use The total area of the relevant sites for which planning permission has been granted amounts to 3.92 hectares which is the combined total for all Use Classes as detailed in Table 41. BD4 Total amount of floorspace for town centre uses (This indicator basically encompasses the completed amount of floorspace in respect of retail (A1), financial and professional services (A2), office (B1a), and leisure (D2) development, within the town centre and within the local authority area) BD4 (i) Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development: within town centres The data in Table 42 shows that there has been little development in the town centre

60 Table 42: Amount in sq.m. of completed retail, office and leisure development: within town centres (BD4 (i)) Net Use Class Gain in Year (sq.m.) Loss in Year (sq.m.) Completed in Year (sq.m.) Percentage (Gain) A % A % B1a % D % Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC NB: Floorspace is specified as square metres, not confirmed as gross internal floorspace Use Class A1, not expressed as net tradable floorspace, data not available for historic applications Category B1a includes permissions for B1 office The figures in the above table re. town centres form part of the figures in the table below re. Watford BD4 (ii) Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development: within local authority area - Watford Table 43: Amount in sq.m. of completed retail, office and leisure development: within local authority area Watford (BD4 (ii)) Use Class Gain in Year (sq.m.) Loss in Year (sq.m.) Net Completed in Year A A B1a D Data Source: Information Management Unit, HCC and Planning Policy, WBC NB: Floorspace is specified as square metres, not confirmed as gross internal floorspace Use Class A1, not expressed as net tradable floorspace, data not available for historic applications B1a includes permissions for B1 office (same data as included within BD1) The gain to A1 (retail) was comprised of various developments including small extensions and changes of use from offices. The gain to A2 (Financial and Professional Services) was comprised of 3 developments, all changes of use from retail. The gain to B1a (offices) was made up of a 750 sq.m. loss of nurses accommodation; a 206 sq.m. change of use from B8 ancillary offices and the remainder involved 2 small extensions. The loss to A1 involved 15 applications for various developments, resulting in a total of 42 additional flats; changes of use to three restaurants, one hot food takeaway, estate agent, betting shop, recruitment office, motorcycle sales; the loss is mostly made up of demolitions that have taken place with the resulting gains yet to be completed. The loss to A2 was part of mixed developments and changes of use to two restaurants and residential. The loss to B1a came from changes of use resulting in 4 dwellings and two shops

61 Losses of employment land (completed sites only): This indicator has been removed under the revised set of Core Output Indicators but Watford Borough Council considers that it is beneficial to continue monitoring in this respect, as it is important to try and identify the reasons for losses to employment land. i) in employment areas = 0.31 hectares There were two applications completed to technically non-employment uses: A change of use of part of a building from a warehouse to a skills training centre, which was deemed to be an acceptable use in the designated employment area and complying with the aims of the policy E1. The demolition of offices and erection of a hotel and 22 flats above was considered to be acceptable within the designated employment area as the loss of the existing office block would not result in under-provision of offices within the locality (Clarendon Road) and the hotel is business orientated, which was considered to help regenerate the area and provide facilities, including quality accommodation, and a mix of conference space and restaurant/café/bar catering, to the benefit of businesses in the area. ii) in Local Authority Area = 1.06 hectares 67% of the 1.06 hectares of land lost to employment in Watford overall, has been used for residential development, resulting in a total of 70 dwellings (not including the 22 flats above a hotel). As previously mentioned, 23% has been used for a hotel and a skills training centre utilised 6%; the remainder was made up of two shops and a private taxi garaging, servicing and repair premises

62 6.2. Housing Six main elements of housing development are considered in this section: H1 Plan period and housing targets H2 (a) Net additional dwellings - in previous years H2 (b) Net additional dwellings - for the reporting year (currently ) H2 (c) Net additional dwellings - in future years H2 (d) Managed delivery target H3 New and converted dwellings - on previously developed land H4 Net additional pitches (Gypsy and Traveller) H5 Gross affordable housing completions H6 Housing Quality Building for Life Assessments H1: Plan Period and Housing Targets N.B. The Hertfordshire County Structure Plan covers the period 1991 to 2011, and the housing requirement for Watford over the 20 years is 4,700 dwellings, which is 235 units per annum. Watford had attained this by the end of the monitoring year 2006/07 and has in the past monitoring year, exceeded the target by 1,230 units. (Total completions 1991/92 to 2009/10 = = 1230). The Structure Plan was superseded by the East of England Plan, soon to be revoked by the Decentralism and Localism Bill, expected in November 2010, to be enacted in autumn This means that the East of England Plan will no longer form part of the development plan and we are now working towards housing levels as indicated are required by the evidence resulting from background studies for the Core Strategy please see below. H1 (a): East of England Plan Target We have considered the target quoted in the East of England Plan, forming the Regional Spatial Strategy, which was valid during this monitoring period. The target contained in the East of England Plan for Watford covering the period 2001 and 2021 is 5,200 dwellings over 20 years, equating to 260 units per annum. The same annual target of 260 has been extended to 2026, giving a total target of 6,500 in order to provide a 15 year trajectory period. However, following the recent change in central government in May 2010, the Regional Spatial Strategy, including the housing targets, is soon to be revoked, meaning that local government will have control over determining the local housing target

63 H1 (b): Core Strategy Target Watford Borough Council has reviewed the housing targets against the evidence available (such as the Strategic Housing Land Availability Study and population/household projections) and is continuing with the previous East of England annual target of 260 dwellings. Therefore, the emerging Core Strategy, which will cover the period to , will state that we are seeking a total level of supply of 6,500 dwellings over 25 years. H2 (a): Net additional dwellings in previous years The housing trajectory demonstrates housing provision by providing the actual numbers of net annual completions in the past and projected numbers of completions in the future, and compares these to the targets for new housing. The main purpose of the trajectory is to support forward planning by monitoring housing performance and supply, so that shortfalls and oversupply are identified. This highlights whether any action is necessary in amending planning policy or other means of support to the housing market. Figures 12 and 13 illustrate the housing trajectory graphically and Tables 44 and 45 show the figures in chart form, against both the East of England Plan target to 2026 and the proposed Core Strategy target to

64 East of England Plan Target H2 (a) i: Table 44 and Figure 12 show the annual net number of dwellings completed between , the total being 2,786, against the East of England Plan target. This amount is above the target, making 232 the revised annual rate necessary in order to achieve the total of 6,500 by Also shown are the projected completions for The housing trajectory has been extended beyond the RSS Plan period to 2026 to enable a 15 year trajectory to be provided. Table 44: Net Housing Completions and Projected 31 Mar 10 against East of England Plan Target, extended to East of England Plan Target Revised Annual Rate Net Annual Projected Cumulative Year Completions Completions Total Actual 01/ / / / / ,406 06/ ,652 07/ ,943 08/ ,270 09/ ,786 10/ ,313 11/ ,694 12/ ,134 13/ ,428 14/ ,725 15/ ,827 16/ ,148 17/ ,608 18/ ,058 19/ ,458 20/ ,858 21/ ,067 22/ ,125 23/ ,183 24/ ,241 25/ ,299 Totals 2,786 4,513 6, ,299 Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC and Information Management Unit, HCC

65 Core Strategy Target H2 (a) ii Table 45 and Figure 13 show the annual number of net dwellings completed between 2007 and 2010, being 1,380, against the Core Strategy target. This amount is above the target, making 244 the revised annual rate necessary in order to achieve the total of 6,500 by Also shown are the projected completions for Table 45: Net Housing Completions and Projected 31 Mar 10 against Core Strategy target Core Strategy Target Revised Annual Rate Net Annual Projected Cumulative Year Completions Completions Total Actual 06/ / / / ,380 10/ ,907 11/ ,288 12/ ,728 13/ ,022 14/ ,319 15/ ,421 16/ ,742 17/ ,202 18/ ,652 19/ ,052 20/ ,452 21/ ,661 22/ ,719 23/ ,777 24/ ,835 25/ ,893 26/ ,951 27/ ,009 28/ ,067 29/ ,125 30/ ,183 Totals 1,380 4,803 6, ,183 Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC and Information Management Unit, HCC

66 Figure 12: Housing Trajectory 2010 based on the East of England Plan target 800 Housing Trajectory Against East of England Plan Actual and Projected Completions / /03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/ / / /15 15/ / / /19 19/20 20/21 21/ / /24 24/25 25/ ,000 Year Net Annual Completions Projected Completions East of England Plan Target Revised Annual Rate

67 Figure 13: Housing Trajectory 2010 based on the Core Strategy target Housing Trajectory Against Core Strategy Target Actual and Projected Completions /07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 25/26 26/27 27/28 28/29 29/30 30/31 Year Net Annual Completions Projected Completions Core Strategy Target Revised Annual Rate

68 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 H2 (b): Net additional dwellings for the reporting year (the past year of 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010) This indicator is the same as the new National Indicator 154: Net additional homes provided. H2 (b) i: The net figure of 516 completions for against the East of England Plan target exceeds the revised annual rate of 249 from last year required to remain on target. Overall, if development continues in line with the projections calculated, we estimate that there would be 799 dwellings surplus to the target by H2 (b) ii: The net figure of 516 completions for against the Core Strategy target exceeds the revised annual rate of 256 from last year required to remain on target. Overall, if development continues in line with the projections calculated, we estimate that there will be a shortfall of 317 by However, it is proposed that new housing sites will be formally allocated through the Sites Allocations process. H2(c): Net additional dwellings in future years Local Planning Authorities are required to identify a fifteen year supply of deliverable sites and Table 44 and Figure 12 show the annual level of additional housing expected to come forward up to 2026 against the East of England Plan target. For comparison, Table 45 and Figure 13, show the corresponding figures up to 2031, in respect of the Core Strategy period. A more detailed assessment is required for the first five years and for this purpose, we are providing the assessment against the East of England target which was valid during this monitoring period. Assessment of a Five Year Housing supply Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3): Housing requires Local Planning Authorities to assess and demonstrate the extent to which existing plans fulfil the requirement to identify and maintain a rolling 5-year supply of deliverable land for housing as this influences how planning applications are determined (see PPS3 paragraphs 68-73). The criteria for assessing deliverability are laid down in PPS3. Paragraph 54 says that to be deliverable, sites should: Be available the site is available now Be suitable the site offers a suitable location for development now and would contribute to the creation of sustainable, mixed communities Be achievable there is a reasonable prospect that housing will be delivered on the site within five years 67

69 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 The larger sites in the Five Year Assessment are listed in Appendix 12, and totals are supplied for the smaller sites. (Total of 145 smaller sites, each site between 1 and 9 units - details available by application to Planning Policy; strategy@watford.gov.uk) The first year of the trajectory period, looking forward is , which is the current year during which this AMR is compiled, and the expected number of dwellings likely to be completed has been identified as 527, the majority of which are developments already under construction. However, advice in DCLG Core Output Indicators Update 2/2008 states that the current year must not be included as part of the five year assessment, which should cover the following five years, between to Sites included in the five year assessment are a combination of sites under construction; sites with unimplemented planning permissions; allocated housing sites (only those likely to proceed); and other sites identified for housing since adoption of the WDP All those sites included have been assessed for deliverability against the criteria listed above. The method used for phasing estimating which year each site will be completed is based on such factors as whether the development has started, when planning permissions will expire, discussions with developers and whether or not a site allocated in the Plan but without planning permission as yet, is likely to proceed. On housing sites of 10 dwellings or more, developers and/or their agents were contacted for the up to date position in order to inform our assessment, although this was not feasible to carry out for all the smaller sites (less than 10 dwellings). Monitoring data also shows that, historically, non-implementation rates, known as slippage, of planning applications has been very low. We considered that assessment of each individual larger site would be more accurate than applying a flat slippage allowance across the whole trajectory. The East of England Plan requirement is 5,200 dwellings over 20 years. The housing trajectory has been extended beyond the RSS Plan period to 2026 to enable a 15 year trajectory to be provided, equating to 6,500 dwellings by 2026 (260 dwellings per annum). Taking into account the total completions of 2,786 units between , this equates to a residual annual requirement of 232 dwellings, which corresponds to 1,160 dwellings over a five year period (6,500-2,786=3,714/16=232). As can be seen from the site specific listing for the five year assessment, Watford can demonstrate that it has a five year supply of deliverable sites, as the number of projected completions between has been identified as 1,514 (x), which exceeds the residual East of England Plan planned housing provision target of 1,160 (y) dwellings by 354 units. The five year land supply (in line with National Indicator 159 formula) is calculated as (x/y) *100 and therefore Watford s 5 year land supply is (1514/1160)*100=130.5%. A specific list with regard to larger sites (i.e. containing 10 dwellings or more) and allocated sites has been provided in Appendix 12 with regards to the five year assessment between although a site specific list of the five year assessment 68

70 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 and/or the full trajectory listing detailing all housing commitments has not been included in order to reduce the volume of paperwork but they are available upon request, from the Planning Policy team ( or write to us at our address on the back page of this document). Also provided in Appendix 10 is a list of the outstanding allocated sites without planning permission as at 31 March 2010, which shows the estimated likelihood of whether development will proceed and when figures for these sites are included in the projections. Additionally, a summary of all the Housing Sites allocated in the WDP 2000 and their current status is provided in Appendix 11. Table 46: Total Net Housing Completions by Allocated Housing Site or Windfall Type No. of Allocated Housing Site Units Completed Allocated Housing Site Units as % of Total Net Completions No. of Large Windfall Site Units Completed Large Windfall Site Units as % of Total Net Completions No. of Small Windfall Site Units Completed Small Windfall Site Units as % of Total Net Completions Total Net Housing Completions Year 2001/ % 19 31% 31 50% / % 30 18% 42 25% / % 12 5% 31 13% / % % 51 14% / % % 96 16% / % % 51 21% / % % 85 29% /09 8 2% % 76 23% /10 0 0% % 64 12% 516 Totals % % % 2786 Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC N.B. An amendment has been made to the number of allocated housing units completed for 2008/09, which was incorrectly reported as zero in the AMR There were 8 allocated housing units completed in , part of a development at Rickmansworth Road, Housing Site 27. For the AMR year 2009/10, there were no units completed from Allocated Housing Sites. The absence of units completed on Housing Allocated sites is largely due to the number of allocated sites coming forward for development in previous years, whilst the remaining Allocated Housing Sites (that are still likely to go ahead) are projected to come forward for development from 2012 to Windfall describes those planning permissions that come forward on unidentified sites i.e. those not allocated in the local development framework or the local plan, which is currently the Watford District Plan 2000 (adopted in 2003). Watford has a historic record of substantial windfall delivery and the whole of Watford s housing completions this monitoring year are composed of windfall sites; large sites make up 88% and the remainder is composed of small sites. (Large windfall sites are developments where there are at least 10 dwellings or more, and small windfall sites are developments of less than 10 dwellings). With regard to windfalls, Planning Policy Statement 3 ( PPS3 ) states that Allowances for windfalls should not be included in the first 10 years of land supply 69

71 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 unless Local Planning Authorities can provide robust evidence of genuine local circumstances that prevent specific sites being identified. This is referring to an allowance for windfall sites which are as yet unknown, where no planning permission has been granted. As suggested in PPS3, no windfall allowance has been made for the first 10 years of housing supply, but from a windfall allowance in respect of 58 units per annum has been included. This allowance has been calculated as the average annual rate taking into account the preceding nine years results for small sites only (527/9=58). No windfall allowance has been made for large sites because the lower the number of sites involved, together with the larger number of completions gives a less dependable average, which may not be repeated and could distort the figures. There are a number of factors which could mean that development will not follow the projections outlined; for example, not every permission granted is implemented; once a permission is granted Watford Borough Council do not have any control over when development commences (therefore development may not happen in the year predicted) apart from that construction may not start once the planning consents have expired; building works may take longer than currently scheduled and more or possibly less windfall sites than expected may come forward for development. For example, in the AMR 2009, the estimated figure for net completions in was 495 units, whereas the actual net completions figure was 516 units. Although the total figure for the result was comparatively close to the estimate, compiling the trajectory and phasing when dwellings are likely to be completed is never going to be an exact science. We have compared our estimate and the actual result. Various sites which were predicted to be completed in have completed within , sooner than expected. These include 14 units at Lower High Street, 12 units at 5 & 6 Bramble Close, 20 units at Rickmansworth Road and 22 units at St Martins House, Clarendon Road. Also, 56 dwellings were completed during this monitoring year at Willow Grange, 34 more than the 22 estimated, leaving 106 units rather than 140 due to be completed during This makes a total of 102 extra units completed during , earlier than predicted and this will obviously have a knock on effect in reducing the forecast for in this respect. Conversely, only 7 units, 22 less than the 29 forecast to be completed at Alban Wood Junior School, Newhouse Crescent have actually been finished this year and just 37 dwellings, 31 less than the 68 forecasted to be completed at the Sun Chemical site in Cow Lane have been built this year. This makes a total 53 dwellings completed less than forecasted thus increasing the number of units outstanding to be built in future years. The undeveloped sites allocated in the WDP 2000 together with additional sites that come forward will be reviewed, published for consultation in the future and then further sites will be allocated as part of the Site Specific Allocations DPD process. Planning applications will be considered and determined having regard to PPS3 (in particular paragraph 69) Development Plan policies and other material considerations. 70

72 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 H2 (d): Managed delivery target The purpose of the managed delivery target is to show how likely levels of future housing are expected to come forward taking into account the previous years delivery of net additional dwellings. The managed delivery target for each year is illustrated as Revised Annual Rate within Tables 44 and 45 and the corresponding Housing Trajectory graphs e.g. Table 44 and Figure 12 show the annual net number of dwellings completed between , the total being 2,786 (see H2(a) i:), against the East of England Plan target. Taking these total completions into account, the revised annual rate or managed delivery target is calculated to be 232 for in order to achieve the total of 6,500 by As each future year s estimated completions vary, so does the annual rate required to reach the target, and is thus revised each year as shown. H3: New and converted dwellings on previously developed land Previously developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings) see Annex B of PPS3 for a full definition. As reported by CLG on 9 th June 2010, the definition of previously developed land as quoted in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) has been changed to exclude private residential gardens. However, this change in definition does not impact upon any data contained in the AMR 2010, which is based on the period 1 st April 2009 to 31st March Saved policies H5 (Development on Previously Developed Land) and SE1 (Making Development Sustainable) of the Watford District Plan 2000 prioritise and encourage development on brownfield sites, policy H5 seeks to ensure that at least 80% of all residential development is on previously developed land. There were 540 completed dwellings (gross) in total during the year, of which 100% were on previously developed land against our revised target of 95% (see Table 47). The national annual target is that 60% of new housing should be on previously developed land. Table 47: Percentage of new and converted homes (gross) on previously developed land (H3) 2002/ / / / / / / /10 100% 100% 97.89% 100% 99.66% 100% 100% 100% Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC. H4: Net additional pitches (Gypsy and Traveller) - there have been no additional pitches delivered. Watford Borough Council currently accommodates a 10-pitch public gypsy/traveller site at Tolpits Lane in the south of the town, managed by Hertfordshire County Council. It also contains two privately-owned travelling show people s sites in the north. There are no transit sites in Watford. The number of unauthorised encampments in the Borough has fallen from 22 in 1998 to no unauthorised encampments since

73 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 While the reduction in encampments could in part be attributed to a loss of land accessible to travellers, particularly due to the redevelopment of premises in the Lower High Street area in the late 1990 s, there remain sites that could physically be occupied by travellers, and the lack of unauthorised encampments can therefore be taken as evidence of a lack of demand. On 29 August 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that Circular 01/06 Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites and Circular 04/07 'Planning for Travelling Showpeople which requires local authorities to make provision for the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers would be revoked. Guidance setting out Councils obligations is due to be published. Local councils are best placed to assess the needs of travellers. The abolition of Regional Strategies means that local authorities will be responsible for determining the right level of site provision, reflecting local need and historic demand, and for bringing forward land in DPDs (Development Plan Documents). They should continue to do this in line with current policy. Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) have been undertaken by all local authorities and if local authorities decide to review the levels of provision these assessments will form a good starting point. However, local authorities are not bound by them. We will review relevant regulations and guidance on this matter in due course. H5: Gross affordable housing completions The revised definition includes not only newly built affordable housing delivered through Planning Policy, but also the number of dwellings completed through new build together with acquisitions and conversions this totals 224 units. (This indicator is defined the same as the National Indicator 155: Number of affordable homes delivered.) We believe that the total affordable 224 units quoted in the AMR may differ with the 225 units reported for NI155, due to updated information supplied by the relevant Registered Social Landlord on the number of MyChoice Homebuy provided. We are required to provide a breakdown, giving the sum of social rented housing and the sum of intermediate affordable housing. Table 48: Affordable Housing Units completed (H5) Number of social rented housing 110 Number of intermediate housing 115 shared ownership/shared equity Total additional affordable dwellings 224 N.B. Intermediate housing is at prices or rents above those of social-rent but below market prices or rents. This can include shared equity products e.g. HomeBuy and intermediate rent (i.e. rents above social-rented level but below market rents). 72

74 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Of the total 224 dwellings, 159 affordable housing units were completed via planning obligations this year, and the remaining 65 were acquisitions; 55 newly built properties through a combination of Homebuy Direct (45) and MyChoice Homebuy (10) and an additional 10 second-hand properties through MyChoice Homebuy St Albans Road 37 affordable units completed which was 30% of the total 124 units in the development; Willow Grange, Church Road 22 affordable units completed (3 affordable units completed 08-09) from the 51 affordable units scheduled in this development (which is 30% of the overall number of 174 units ) leaving 26 affordable units waiting to be built Former Sun Chemicals (part), Cow Lane 26 affordable units completed out of the 69 affordable units scheduled (which is 30% of the 223 units in total for this development) leaving 43 affordable units waiting to be built East Section of Tinsley Estate, Queen Mary s Avenue 37 affordable units completed which was 60% of the total 62 units in this development Outlook Place, 103 Langley Road 37 affordable units completed which was 100% of the number of units in this development Saved policy H17 (Provision of Affordable Housing) of the Watford District Plan 2000 states that generally, all new housing developments consisting of 25 or more dwellings or on sites over 1 hectare are expected to provide a proportion (at a minimum of 30%) of affordable housing. Therefore all these planning applications comply with the policy existing at the time of approval. Please note that, Watford Borough Council has agreed changes to this policy, with effect from the 7 June Agreement was given to use the national threshold for affordable housing in determining planning applications and that the minimum proportion of affordable housing sought should be 35%. That is, on developments of 15 or more dwellings (or sites of more than 0.5 hectare) a minimum of 35% affordable housing should be provided. There have been additional planning applications agreed as at 31 March 2010 that include an element of affordable housing but construction was either in progress or had not yet commenced, and these are detailed below in Table 49. This indicates that a substantial amount of affordable housing, currently totalling 560 dwellings, is due to be built over the next few years. 73

75 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Table 49: Affordable Housing agreed as at 31 March Number of Planning Application No. Address affordable housing units 26 outstanding (3 units completed & 22 units in 06/01648/FULM Willow Grange, Church Road total 51) 06/00195/FULM 26 Exchange Road 40 08/01273/REM 07/00022/FULM 07/01602/REM 08/01493/FULM 08/00440/REM 06/01335/FULM 07/01398/FULM 08/01378/FULM 09/00576/FUL 09/00905/OUTM 09/0445/FULM 08/00746/FULM Alban Wood Junior School, Newhouse Crescent 9 Watford Football Club, Vicarage Road (26 units completed in total 69) Former Sun Chemicals (part), Cow Lane Former Sun Chemicals (part), Cow Lane 18 Fire & Ambulance Station, Whippendell Road 27 52a-56 High Street (3 extra units Watford Springs, negotiated since Lower High Street 08-09) West Herts College Cassio Campus 67 Garage land rear of Pinetree House, the Turnstones 6 Blackwell House, Aldenham Road 15 Former JR Tagger Site, Pinner Road 24 Rainbow House, 24 Water Lane 62 Status as at 31 March 2010 Development in progress Development in progress Approval of reserved matters re. 06/00310/OUTM Development in progress Development in progress Development in progress Development in progress Approval of reserved matters re. 03/00602/OUTM not started Detailed permission not started Detailed permission not started Detailed permission not started Detailed permission not started Outline permission not started Detailed permission not started Detailed permission not started Total affordable housing commitments 560 Source: Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC The East of England Plan set an expectation that 35% of housing that is delivered will be affordable. In these terms, the 224 affordable units delivered this year (although 10 of these dwellings were second-hand, rather than newly built completions) represent 43% of the total 516 net housing completions. New affordable targets for Watford are being developed through the Core Strategy and will be informed by the evidence produced by various studies such as the Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) that was commissioned in partnership with neighbouring local authorities. The final report was due from the consultants in May 74

76 Annual Monitoring Report but was delayed and ultimately finalised in April 2010, and the findings are being considered alongside other evidence. H6: Housing Quality Building for Life Assessments This indicator was introduced in July 2008 for the purpose of showing the level of quality in new housing development. The definition is the number and proportion of total new build completions on housing sites of 10 or more dwellings, reaching very good, good, average and poor ratings against the Building for Life criteria. The CABE Building for Life criteria is a government endorsed assessment benchmark developed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), which promotes design excellence and celebrates best practice in the house building industry. An additional member of staff has been trained as an accredited assessor during the period and these formal assessments have been undertaken for the first time. A total of twelve development schemes contained the requisite number of residential units to reach the threshold for requiring a Building for Life Assessment. The average score for these developments combined was 13.5 out of 20, which is categorised as 'average'. Two schemes scored at least 16 out of 20 and are therefore characterised as 'very good', while a further three schemes scored at least 14 out of 20 and are therefore characterised as 'good'. The remaining seven schemes achieved 'average' scores. The findings of these assessments will be shared with colleagues from Development Control and a learning session will take place to see how future schemes can achieve higher quality design. Details of the Building for Life assessment criteria can be viewed at the following link: Table 50: Building for Life Assessments - post completion Development Name Score out of 20 Categorised as: Outlook Place, Langley Road 17.5 Very good Alban Wood, Newhouse Crescent 16.5 Very good Gate House Place, Rickmansworth Road 14.5 Good Willow Grange, Church Road 14.5 Good Former Chemical Works, Cow Lane 14 Good Fullerian Crescent, Cassiobury Park Avenue 13.5 Average Clarendon Road 13.5 Average Fire Station, Lower High Street 12.5 Average Sears Point, St Albans Road 12.5 Average Royal Court, Queen Mary's Avenue 12 Average Nanterre Court, Hempstead Road 10.5 Average 5-6 Bramble Close 10.5 Average Compiled by Planning Policy, WBC. 75

77 Annual Monitoring Report Environmental Quality E1: Number of planning permissions granted contrary to the advice of the Environment Agency on flooding and water quality grounds Within the adopted Watford District Plan 2000, there are saved policies (namely SE 26 to SE 30) that include requirements for flood prevention and defence and the safeguarding of water quality. The Environment Agency produce yearly reports of their objections lodged with Local Authorities on the grounds of Flood Risk and Water Quality the reports for 2009/10 can be found on their website Our research has found that no objections have been received in the monitoring period on the grounds of water quality from the Environment Agency. Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, two objections are listed by the Environment Agency under Watford Borough Council on flood risk grounds, relating to the following planning applications: 09/00672/FULM, West Herts College, Cassio Campus, for the reason Unsatisfactory FRA/FCA submitted (Surface Water) the Environment Agency subsequently withdrew their objection by letter dated 28 September This application has not been determined and is due to be withdrawn. 09/00835/FULM, former Leggatts Campus, Leggatts Way, for the reason Unsatisfactory FRA/FCA submitted the Environment Agency subsequently withdrew their objection by letter dated 27 January This application was initially refused by Watford Borough Council but subsequently allowed by the Planning Inspectorate and conditions were imposed as recommended by the Environment Agency in the grant of planning permission on appeal. As the reports are mainly to assist Local Authorities with the compilation of this data, they are not updated to take account of further developments after the initial objection. Please note that the Council is always guided by the advice of the Environment Agency in such matters and planning permissions are granted in accordance with the advice of the Environment Agency. With regard to development and flood risk in general, and following requirements set out in Planning Policy Statement 25 ( PPS 25 ) and associated directives, Watford Borough Council together with three neighbouring local planning authorities, Dacorum Borough Council, St Albans City and District Council and Three Rivers District Council commissioned a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment study to be carried out by Halcrow consultants in February The purpose of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment is to assess and map all forms of flood risk from ground water, surface water, sewer and river sources together with giving policy advice for the LDF. The study was successfully completed for all four Councils in October 2007 and the study is available on our website under the planning/local 76

78 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 development framework article. It is a requirement by the Environment Agency that the study is updated every three years and Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) received funding, from Defra, for early action, in advance of legislation, on the new role of Lead Local Flood Authority. This included preparing a Surface Water Management Plan for Watford and St Albans. One outcome from this plan is to prepare a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment for Watford; as well as an assessment of the flood risk for the Borough; this will also produce a Flood Risk Map. Watford Borough Council completed the first stage of a Water Cycle Study (WCS) together with Dacorum Borough Council, St Albans City and District Council, Three Rivers District Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council. The Water Cycle Scoping Study (completed April 2010) advised on potential water related infrastructure needs, taking account of likely housing growth in the area. Watford is likely to be affected by the need for an upgrade of Maple Lodge Sewage Treatment Works, near Maple Cross. A Water Cycle Study identifies sites which can and cannot support growth, as well as immediate funding and longer-term maintenance costs. The Council is working on further Climate Change adaptation evidence and policies. Climate Change adaptation is a mechanism of addressing the impacts and the opportunities arising in a changing climate as there will be some degree of unavoidable climate change stemming from our historic greenhouse gas emissions. In the LDF we will investigate how new river restoration and flood defence policies as well as improvements to water quality, river corridors, floodplains and other open water areas could be supported by policy and implemented. Also, we will look into Climate Change in housing design and development processes, such as SUD systems and flood resilient housing. This process will be supported by other Council activities and processes, such as Flood Resilience Planning and Surface Water Management planning in the future. E2 Change in areas of biodiversity importance Watford now has five Local Nature Reserves (LNRs): Albans Wood, Cassiobury Park, Harebreaks Wood and Lairage Land and Garston Park, the last was recently declared an LNR in March 2010, which is the only real change this year. Other statistical differences only result from improvements in mapping and measuring techniques. The saved policies SE32, SE33, SE36, SE37 and SE 39 support the safeguarding of natural habitats important for priority species or rare species and the enhancement of biodiversity. 77

79 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Table 51: Number and area of wildlife sites in Watford (E2) 2010 no area (ha) Difference LNRs no. (+6.36ha) Wildlife sites N/A SSSIs Source: HBRC and WBC, compiled by Planning Policy, WBC N.B. The areas may continue to vary from year to year with the addition and loss of sites, as well as major boundary amendments (particularly to Wildlife Sites). Throughout the year, there are also numerous minor changes to boundaries as new information becomes available (e.g. the removal of areas with no ecological value). Re-digitising is also necessary when Ordnance Survey baseline mapping data is updated, and this year HBRC began to use MasterMap to improve non-statutory site boundaries (Wildlife Sites and RIGS) Although there are no Sites of Special Scientific Interest within Watford, there is a site with this designation that is managed by Watford Council, which is Whippendell Woods it is adjacent to the Borough boundary in Three Rivers District. Change in priority habitats and species (by type) This indicator has been removed from the new set of Core Output Indicators although it has been recommended that it be used as a contextual indicator to be reported less frequently. The saved policies SE32, SE33, SE36, SE37 and SE 39 support the safeguarding of natural habitats important for priority species or rare species and the enhancement of biodiversity. Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre ( HBRC ) have previously provided those statistics that were available, including changes in bird populations and changes in butterfly numbers and species, although data is not available in all cases down to district level. It should be noted that the surveys to obtain the data on birds and butterflies are carried out by volunteers and enthusiasts in their own time. It would seem impractical for districts to attempt to calculate the precise loss of particular species to development, due to a lack of resources including time, money and expertise although the possible site-specific impact of development, both directly (loss of habitat) or indirectly (disturbance, pollution light, noise, air particles) should always be considered. As there has not been any new data supplied since 2007, the data is not repeated here but can be located in previous AMR s since Local biodiversity information With regards to biodiversity developments specific to Watford, information has been provided locally by our Leisure and Community Department. Two major surveys of flora and invertebrates took place at Cassiobury Park during The full botanical survey has not revealed any nationally rare species although some bryophytes (tiny plants including mosses, liverworts and hornworts) recorded are nationally uncommon. 78

80 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 It has been previously ascertained that Watford has two populations of Great Crested Newt, a species which has legal protection and has declined over recent years within the U.K. The ponds inhabited (both approximately 25 square metres) are at Paddock Road allotment and Cassiobury Park. Great Crested Newt surveys were subsequently carried out at Paddock Road Allotment in May and June 2006 and the population there is significant with at least 100 individuals. A survey was carried out at Cassiobury Park in May 2006, where the population is less than 5. Figure 14: Great Crested Newt Two new sites were identified between April to June 2006 as having Stag Beetles, which is a globally threatened species and listed as a priority for the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. These sites are Harebreaks Adventure Playground and Callowland Recreation Ground. Population sizes are unknown but the area where they have been found in the Adventure Playground and the adjacent Local Nature Reserve, are under biodiversity management, which will benefit the Stag Beetle population. Further surveys were scheduled for 2009 but were put on hold, following some restructuring within Watford Borough Council. However, fungi surveys have been undertaken outside this monitoring period, later in 2010, in Albans Wood and Harebreaks Wood, which has increased the Council s knowledge in this area, with the possibility of a rare species being located but this is still at the investigative stage. A flora survey is also planned to take place in Garston Park, the newly declared LNR. Figure 15: Stag Beetle Male Larva Female 79

81 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 E3: To show the amount of renewable energy generation by installed capacity and type The definition of this indicator, revised in 2008, states that: Installed capacity should be reported for a) renewable energy developments / installations granted planning permission and b) completed renewable energy developments/installations Within the adopted Watford District Plan 2000, there are saved policies (namely SE4, U1 and U2) which support and encourage the use of renewable energy sources. Not all renewable energy installations require planning permission; small scale domestic installations may be considered permitted development under the General Permitted Development Order, 1995 (as amended) and contributed capacities from renewables often are not provided in those applications where they are included. a) At the local level, we have noted from our planning applications for the monitoring year, those applications have been granted planning permission which contain some elements of renewable energy as follows: Table 52: Renewable Energy Developments granted planning permission (E3a) Application No Decision Date Address Description of Development Land R/O St Albans Road Erection of 3 flats - solar panels Alban Wood School, Newhouse Design & appearance of house type L Crescent plot 20 to 23 - solar panel PV Gade Avenue Replacement dwelling - solar panels /00075/FUL Garage Land R/O Pinetree House, the Turnstones Croxley Green Watercress Farm and Fisheries Residential development comprising 6 dwellings - possible solar panels erection of a new watercress processing plant, roof to incorporate solar panels b) As there were no applications containing renewable energy identified in the previous monitoring year 2008/09, and none outstanding from 2007/08, there are no completed renewable energy developments/installations to report We have also sought data from the Energy Savings Trust s Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED) and investigated various other sources but there was little data available. However, we have made separate enquiries with the Energy Savings Trust and have obtained some householder data information with regard to grants provided for renewable energy in Watford, as per the following grants table. 80

82 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Table 53: LCBP Phase 1 grants for Watford LCBP Phase 1 grants for Watford LA* Year Grant Paid Number of Installations** Solar Photovoltaic Power Output kwp Grant Paid Number of Installations** Solar Thermal Hot Water Collector Area M 2 Grant Paid 2006/ / / , / / Total: , , Source: Energy Savings Trust N.B. Based on Stream 1 householder data. There have been no LCBP Phase 1 installations for Stream 1 Communities, Stream2a or Stream2b, which fall within Watford Local Authority. ** Successful applications all of which are now paid. The use of renewable energy sources on the Council s own buildings fits in with the Council aim to manage carbon emissions in the Council s own premises, and across the town. Both Watford Woodside Sports and Leisure Centre and Watford Central Baths were completed in 2008 and provide good examples of low and zero carbon technologies, which have been explained in detail in the previous AMR 2009 and provide continuous reductions in CO2 emissions and reduced energy use. Watford Borough Council will be seeking to raise the profile of renewable energy in the LDF, and are likely to require a target CO2 emission saving over and above the requirements of the version of Building Regulations current at the time. This approach will eventually necessitate on site renewable energy but ensures energy demand is minimised first. New development will also be required to include a commitment to climate change adaptation and mitigation from design stage. The detail of this is subject to further work and consultation. The Hertfordshire Low and Zero Carbon Study (final report March 2010) identifies opportunity areas for District Heating Schemes within Watford, these will be promoted through the LDF. However, we have already been encouraging this the Watford Springs Planning Brief states that the Council is seeking a scheme that demonstrates best practice in environmentally responsible development which should aim to achieve as near a zero carbon value as possible. The Planning Statement pre-assessing the ability of the site to achieve an Ecohomes Excellent Rating (for more information see submitted as part of the Planning Application 07/01398/FULM for Watford Springs, which was approved on the 15 May 2008, certifies that the proposals fulfil Watford Springs Planning Brief section 4.5 Environmentally Responsible Design and Buildings for Life section 17. A condition has been attached to the planning permission that no dwelling shall be occupied until a certificate demonstrating that that phase of the scheme has achieved Ecohomes Excellent rating has been submitted to and acknowledged in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The Watford Springs development has been delayed by the economic downturn but the developers advise that some dwellings should start to be completed in 2011, and continue over the next few years to

83 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix 1. Glossary of Terms The Act The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 came into force in September 2004 and has set in place a series of changes to the planning system. Accessibility The ability of everybody to go conveniently where they need, particularly in relation to services and facilities. Affordable housing Affordable housing includes social rented and intermediate housing, provided to specific eligible households whose needs are not met by the market (PPS3). It does not include low-cost market housing. AMR Annual Monitoring Report The Council will publish a monitoring report every year to assess the progress that has been made in achieving the timetable set out in the Local Development Scheme. It looks at how successful the policies in the Local Development Documents have been at achieving their aims and if the preparation of the Local Development Framework is running to schedule. COI Core Output Indicators A mandatory standardised set of indicators originally introduced in 2005 by the government in order to monitor the effectiveness of policies and enable national comparison. In July 2008 the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published guidance (Core Output Indicators Update 2/2008), amending the original core output indicators (Appendix 4 highlights the key changes). Core Strategy This Development Plan Document is a required development plan document, which sets out the long-term spatial vision for the Borough, along with the core policies and proposals that will be required to deliver that vision. All other Development Plan Documents must conform to the Core Strategy. CLG Communities and Local Government The Department for CLG was created on 5 May 2006, with a powerful remit to promote community cohesion and equality, as well as responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, planning and local government. DPD Development Plan document Any Local Development Document that forms part of the Development Plan. They are subject to independent examination by a Government appointed Inspector. Development Plan Documents include the Core Strategy and Area Action Plans. 82

84 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 EELGA East of England Local Government Association From 1 April 2010, some of EERA s work will be taken forward by a new organisation called the East of England LGA which is the association of the 52 local authorities of the East of England. EERA East of England Regional Assembly EERA was the Regional Planning Body for the East of England, providing regional planning guidance for the East of England in the form of a Regional Spatial Strategy until it was dissolved on the 31 March It no longer functions as an organisation. G.I.S Geographic Information System Computerised mapping system. GO-East Government Office for the East of England On the 22 July 2010, it was announced that the Government has the intention in principle to abolish all regional Government Offices (the Government Office for London was abolished in May 2010). Go-East was responsible for implementing national policy in the Eastern region, and ensuring our policies and plans accord with national guidance. The final decisions will be made at the end of the Government s Spending Review in the autumn. HBRC - Hertfordshire Biological Records Centre Conducts biological recording and manages an extensive database with information on habitats, species and sites across the county. Also provides an ecological advisory service. IMD Index of Multiple Deprivation The Government publishes an Index of Multiple Deprivation combining individual indices for the following domains: income deprivation; employment deprivation; health deprivation and disability; education, skills and training deprivation; barriers to housing and services; crime; and living environment deprivation into an overall measure of deprivation, the most recent being the 2007 IMD. LDF Local Development Framework The replacement for Local Plans. A portfolio of policy documents which will provide the framework for delivering the spatial planning strategy for Watford. LDS Local Development Scheme A document setting out a 3 year programme for the preparation of the different documents that make up the Local Development Framework. The LDS must be regularly reviewed and is part of the Local Development Framework, but not a Development Plan Document. LSOAs Lower Super Output Areas Administrative areas designated in the 2001 Census, having relatively uniform numbers of residents (around 1,500). There are 32,482 LSOAs in England as opposed to 8,414 local authority wards. 83

85 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 LSP Local Strategic Partnership The One Watford partnership, Watford s LSP, brings together different parts of the public, private, community and voluntary sectors so that they can work together as one body and be more effective in making an impact on improving life in Watford. The partners are Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Police Authority, John Lewis Watford, Safer Watford Partnership, Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce, Watford Community Housing Trust, Watford Council for Voluntary Services, Watford District Children s Trust Partnership, Watford Football Club, Watford Observer, Wenta Business Services, West Hertfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust and West Herts College. ODPM Office of the Deputy Prime Minister The Government department with responsibility for planning and local government prior to 5 May Responsibility then passed to the CLG. PDL Previously Developed Land Previously developed land is that which is or was occupied by a permanent structure (excluding agricultural or forestry buildings) see Annex B of PPS3 for a full definition. As reported by CLG on 9 th June 2010, the definition of previously developed land as quoted in Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3) has been changed to exclude private residential gardens. However, this change in definition does not impact upon any data contained in the AMR 2010, which is based on the period 1 st April 2009 to 31st March PPG17 Planning Policy Guidance 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation (2002) see PPS3 Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (Nov 2006) see On 9 June 2010, the Government announced the reissue of PPS3 with the following amendments from that date: the definition of previously developed land in Annex B now excludes private residential gardens; and the national indicative minimum density of 30 dwellings per hectare is deleted from paragraph 47. PPS12 Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Spatial Planning (DCLG: June 2008) see This replaces Planning Policy Statement 12: Local Development Framework (PPS12), published on 7 September 2004, and Creating Local Development Frameworks: A Companion guide to PPS12, published on 2 November 2004.This also replaces Planning Policy Guidance 12: Development plans (PPG12) published on 14 December PPS25 Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (DCLG: Dec 2006, revised 2010) see PPS25 amendments published 29 March Intention is to consolidate PPS25 and its supplement into an integrated PPS on development and flooding and coastal change. 84

86 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 RSS Regional Spatial Strategy The RSS covering Watford is the East of England Plan (E of E Plan) which was adopted on the 12 May The coalition government has made clear its intention to revoke regional spatial strategies through the Decentralism and Localism Bill, which is expected in November 2010, to be enacted in autumn The revocation of regional spatial strategies means planning authorities will set their own strategy and targets for their area, underpinned by evidence, as part of the government's commitment to local decision making. SA Sustainability Appraisal An assessment of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the policies and proposals contained within the Local Development Framework. SCI Statement of Community Involvement A document (part of the Local Development Framework but not part of the Development Plan) that sets out how the Council will engage with the community in preparing and reviewing the Local Development Framework, and also in major development control decisions. In effect it is the Council s planning policy on consultation. A statement demonstrating how the local planning authority has complied with the Statement of Community Involvement will be required for all local development documents that the Council produces. SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment The European SEA Directive (2001/42/EC) requires a formal environmental assessment of certain plans and programmes, including those involving planning and land use. The assessment will examine the potential impacts of policies and proposals on the environment, and includes proposals for the mitigation of these impacts. Section 106 Planning Agreement Section 106 Planning Agreements are legal agreements between the planning authority and the applicant/developer. They tend to apply to major development schemes and are often made in order to secure contributions towards community infrastructure to meet the needs of residents in new developments and/or to mitigate the impact of new developments upon existing community facilities. SP Structure Plan Hertfordshire Structure Plan adopted Structure Plan produced by the County Council. Spatial Planning Spatial planning goes beyond traditional land use planning to bring together and integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes which influence the nature of places and how they function. This will include policies which can impact on land use by influencing the demands on, or needs for, development, but which are not capable of being delivered solely or mainly through the granting or refusal of planning permission and which may be implemented by other means. 85

87 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 SPD Supplementary Planning Document These are the replacements for Supplementary Planning Guidance. They will be part of the Local Development Framework and subject to specified regulations for preparation, but still not part of the Development Plan. Sui Generis A Latin phrase meaning of its own kind, which in planning refers to any use that does not fall within a specified Use Class, and therefore always requires permission for a change of use; it includes nightclubs, motor car showrooms, retail warehouse clubs, taxi or vehicle hire businesses, laundrettes, amusement centres, petrol stations, hostels and theatres. Watford Community Safety Partnership At it s core is the Watford Responsible Authorities Group (WRAG) a group of senior officers from Hertfordshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire Police Authority, Probation Service, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Watford Borough Council and West Herts Primary Care Trust. The Joint Action Group (JAG) is a multi-agency panel who gather local reports from the community and information from partners to show where the problems are so that actions can be prioritised to address them using the specialist teams, who are: ASBAG (Anti-social Behaviour Action Group), OMG (Offender Management Group) and DAG (Drug and Alcohol Group). WDP 2000 Watford District Plan 2000 The adopted Local Plan for Watford, which sets out policies on land use development and conservation. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 deemed that adopted local plan policies are only saved until 27th September 2007 or until they are replaced by new policies under the LDF prior to that date. If the LDF had not progressed far enough, application had to be made to the Secretary of State to extend the validity of any policies required. The Secretary of State agreed Watford s list of saved policies on 14 September 2007 (see Appendix 7), which should be read in context with the supporting text, tables and appendices of the WDP 2000 and the relevant Supplementary Planning Guidance. 86

88 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix 2. List of Studies which act as the LDF Evidence Base The following documents have been or are being prepared to inform the policies of the Local Development Framework: * These studies were/will be undertaken in partnership with other neighbouring local authorities. Housing Urban Capacity Study* January 2005, Llewelyn Davies with ATIS Real Weatheralls Assesses the potential for housing development up to Superseded by the Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment in 2008, but retained as a reference document. Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment* November In partnership with Dacorum Borough Council (DBC) and Three Rivers District Council (TRDC), with consultants Llewelyn Davies Yeang Updates and replaces the 2005 Urban Capacity Study, and identifies and assesses potential residential development sites. Housing Needs Survey* 2004 (update of 2001 study), David Couttie Associates Assesses the need for affordable housing. Updated by the Strategic Housing Market Assessment in Strategic Housing Market Assessment* April In partnership with Planning and Housing departments in HCC, DBC, TRDC, Hertsmere Borough Council (HBC), St Albans City and District Council (SACDC) and Welwyn Hatfield Council (WHC), with consultants Opinion Research Services (ORS). This updated the 2004 Housing Needs Study, and identifies what types of housing needs to be provided, including how to provide affordable housing. Development Economics Study* - (titled Watford Borough Council Affordable Housing and Section 106 Viability Study ) July Three Dragons. In partnership with other authorities. Supports the Strategic Housing Market Assessment by providing information on how to ensure provision of affordable housing is financially viable. Suggests 30-35% affordable housing to be viable on almost all sites in Watford and that lowering the threshold to 15 units is practical. Employment South West Herts Employment Space Study* January 2005, Roger Tym & Partners with King Sturge Assesses the quality and quantity of employment premises and the need for new floorspace. Updated by the Hertfordshire London Arc Employment study and due to be updated by the Employment Land Review late

89 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Hertfordshire London Arc Employment Study* March 2009, Roger Tym and Partners. In partnership with other authorities in the Hertfordshire London Arc sub-region. This is a wider study which goes some way towards updating the 2005 South West Herts Employment Space Study following the targets for employment provision set out in the East of England Plan published in May Suggests that in future Watford may have a surplus of industrial/warehousing sites but a larger shortage of office accommodation. The forecasts in this study are already considered out of date due to the effects of the recession a more local Employment Land Review is in course of preparation using the most recent forecasts, and due to be published shortly (Nov/Dec 2010). Retail and local centres Sustainable Neighbourhoods Mapping Exercise/Neighbourhood Centres Study October 2005, GVA Grimley (currently unpublished) Identifies potential locations for neighbourhood centres. This is to be updated and published, to include work on the retail hierarchy. Town Centre Study December 2005, Building Design Partnership with CBRE and MVA Wide-ranging vision for the development of Watford Town Centre. St. Albans Road Study November 2005, GVA Grimley Vision for the future enhancement of the St Albans Road area. Watford Retail Study 2005 (Main Report) November 2005, CBRE Assesses the need for new retail development up to Watford Retail Study 2005 (Supplementary Report) March 2007, CBRE The purpose of this report is to roll forward the retail capacity forecasts of the 2005 Study to Infrastructure Joint Infrastructure and Investment Strategy* October Undertaken jointly with the other Hertfordshire authorities. This sets out future infrastructure requirements for Hertfordshire and the extent to which they would be funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy. The need is around 23k per dwelling without addressing historic deficit. This is not seen as viable in the current economic climate. Further work is required to produce a Local Infrastructure Plan. 88

90 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Water Cycle Study Scoping Report* April A Water Cycle Study is required to inform the preparation of Core Strategy and Site Allocation Documents, and ideally provide evidence to support any polices included in the Local Development Framework that relate to water resources, supply and sewerage, wastewater treatment, flood risk, water quality and the wider water environment. Transport EERM DaSTS Enhancement, Phase I Report, May 2010 AECOM was appointed by the Highways Agency (acting on behalf of EEDA and DfT) to undertake the Enhancement of the East of England Regional Model (EERM) reflecting the Delivering a Sustainable Transport System (DaSTS)goals and objectives, but also taking into account wider regional and government policy goals to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. The Government are currently considering these reports and considering how/whether to proceed to Phase 2. Please see the eeda.org.uk website for the report and/or further information. Integrating Transport in South West Herts Study* In partnership with HCC, TRDC and HBC. This looks at improving transport, including public transport. South West Herts Transport Plan, Nov October Herts Highways, produced for Herts County Council. Replaces the previous South West Herts Transportation Strategy. Open Spaces Open Spaces (PPG17) Study Undertaken jointly with the Council's Leisure department The study will identify surpluses and/or shortfalls in provision of open space of all types across the Borough. Previous work is currently being updated and analysed, and should be completed by the beginning of Gypsies and Travellers Accommodation Needs of Gypsies and Travellers* April 2005, Centre for Urban and Regional Studies (University of Birmingham) Estimates the need for gypsy and traveller sites. Accommodation Needs of Gypsies and Travellers in South and West Hertfordshire* Stage 2 Identification of potential Gypsy and traveller Sites in the study area September 2006, Scott Wilson Identifies potential sites to meet the need for gypsy and traveller accommodation. 89

91 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Flooding Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) Volumes 1 and 2* August 2007, Halcrow Group Limited Assesses and maps all forms of flood risk. General A Portrait of Watford November One Watford. The evidence base for the review of Watford s Sustainable Community Strategy contains a wide range of data about the borough. These studies were/will be undertaken in partnership with other neighbouring local authorities. 90

92 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix Index of Multiple Deprivation Local Super Output Area (LSOA) Code Ward IMD Score Rank (where 1 is most deprived) East of England rank Watford rank Herts rank England rank E Central E Meriden E Holywell E Central E Stanborough E Oxhey E Holywell E Callowland E Meriden E Woodside E Central E Leggatts E Meriden E Central E Vicarage E Holywell E Leggatts E Woodside E Leggatts E Vicarage E Woodside E Park E Vicarage E Holywell E Callowland E Meriden E Stanborough E Vicarage E Callowland E Leggatts E Nascot E Holywell E Park E Vicarage E Oxhey E Leggatts E Nascot E Meriden E Callowland E Woodside E Stanborough

93 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Local Super Output Area (LSOA) Code Ward IMD Score Rank (where 1 is most deprived) East of England Herts rank rank Watford rank England rank E Oxhey E Tudor E Stanborough E Nascot E Tudor E Tudor E Stanborough E Oxhey E Tudor E Nascot E Park E Park Source: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Indices of Deprivation 2007 N.B. The LSOAs within Watford number 53, there are 683 within Hertfordshire, there are 3,550 within the East of England and there are 32,482 within England (1 being the most deprived) The shaded areas show the LSOAs that come within the worst 20% in the county, region and country respectively. Some extracts are provided from Using the English Indices of Deprivation 2007: Guidance as background information: please refer to the full document for further guidance. The IMD 2007 is the most detailed (part of the ID 2007) and should be used to pinpoint pockets of deprivation or to highlight variations within a wider geographical area. The district and county council summaries are useful when only a broad overview is required. The ID 2007 is a relative measure of deprivation and therefore it cannot be used to determine how much more deprived one LSOA is than another. For example, it is not possible to say that LSOA X, ranked 20 is twice as deprived as LSOA Y, which is ranked 40. However, it is possible to say that X is more deprived than Y. The ID 2007 identifies concentrations of deprivation and it is important to note that not all deprived people live in deprived areas and conversely, not everyone living in a deprived area is deprived. The ID 2007 is not a measure of affluence. The indicators which have been used have been chosen because they represent different aspects of deprivation. A lack of deprivation does not necessarily equate to affluence. Therefore the LSOAs with the highest ranks (i.e. close to 32,482 within England) are not necessarily affluent, just less deprived. The Index scores from 2004 cannot be compared with those from Though the two indices are very similar, it is not valid to compare the scores between the two time points. An area s score is affected by the scores of every other area; so it is impossible to tell whether a change in score is a real change in the level of deprivation in an area or whether it is due to the scores of other areas going up or down. 92

94 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix 4. Comparison of New Core Output Indicators with Original Core Output Indicators NB. The following table highlights key changes to the Core Output Indicator Set - we have endeavoured to show where indicators are broadly equivalent, and which are being removed. Please see Communities and Local Government Core Output Indicators Update 2/2008 published July 2008 for full definitions and explanations. Please note that minerals and waste core output indicators are not shown as they are the reporting responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council. New Core Output Indicator Reference No. and Description BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND TOWN CENTRES BD1 (i) Total amount of additional employment floorspace - by type - in local authority area BD1 (ii) Total amount of additional employment floorspace - by type in employment areas N.B. Local authorities can apply information re. BD1 for whichever policy areas need to be reported on BD2 Total amount of employment floorspace on previously developed land by type Definition updated to be consistent with PPS3 PDL definition BD3 Employment land available by type BD4 (i)total amount of floorspace for town centre uses within town centres BD4 (ii) Total amount of floorspace for town centre uses within local authority area HOUSING H1 Plan period and housing targets H2(a) Net additional dwellings in previous years H2(b) Net additional dwellings for the reporting year (which is 07-08, previously known as the current year) H2(c) Net additional dwellings in future years Original Core Output Indicator Reference No. and Description BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND TOWN CENTRES 1a Amount of floorspace developed for employment by type in local authority area 1b Amount of floorspace developed for employment by type, in employment (or regeneration) areas N.B. Watford does not have any designated regeneration areas so that part of this indicator will no longer be included in our AMR 1c Amount of floorspace by employment type, which is on previously developed land 1d Employment land available by type See LOCAL SERVICES 4b Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development in town centres 4a Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development Indicator to be removed 1e Losses of employment land in (i) employment / regeneration areas and (ii) local authority area Indicator to be removed 1f Amount of employment land lost to residential development HOUSING 2a Housing trajectory showing: (i) net additional dwellings over the previous five year period or since the start of the relevant development plan document period, whichever is the longer (ii) net additional dwellings for the 93

95 Annual Monitoring Report 2010 New Core Output Indicator Original Core Output Indicator Reference No. and Description Reference No. and Description H2(d) Managed delivery target current year (which is 07/08, now defined as the reporting year ) Main changes (iii) projected net additional dwellings up Dwelling and Net addition definition changes to the end of the relevant development The addition of five year housing supply plan document period or over a ten year information as part of the housing trajectory period from its adoption, whichever is the (where the expected number of completions for longer the current year 08/09 is not be included in the (iv) the annual net additional dwelling supply figures) requirement; and (v) annual average number of net additional dwellings needed to meet overall housing requirements, having regard to previous year s performance H3 New and converted dwellings on 2b Percentage of new and converted previously developed land dwellings on previously developed land Indicator to be removed 2c Percentage of new dwellings completed at: (i) less than 30 dwellings per hectare; (ii) between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare; and (iii) above 50 dwellings per hectare. H4 Net additional pitches (Gypsy and Traveller) Gypsy and Traveller Provision Section H5 Gross affordable housing completions New indicator H6 Housing Quality Building for Life Assessments * This has not previously been monitored and no data is available for This may be a difficult matter to organise if sites applicable are to be physically evaluated at the end of the development process, requiring both staff training and resources. 94 2d Affordable housing completions TRANSPORT Indicator to be removed 3a Amount of completed non-residential development within UCOs A, B and D complying with car-parking standards set out in the local development framework This will continue to be included in Watford s AMR within a bundle of Local Output Indicators on Transport Indicator to be removed 3b Amount of new residential development within 30 minutes public transport time of: a GP; a hospital; a primary school; a secondary school; areas of employment; and a major retail

96 New Core Output Indicator Reference No. and Description See BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT BD4 (ii) Total amount of floorspace for town centre uses within local authority area BD4 (i) Total amount of floorspace for town centre uses within town centre ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY E1 Number of planning permissions granted contrary to Environment Agency advice on flooding and water quality grounds E2 Change in areas of biodiversity importance to show losses or additions to biodiversity habitat E3 Renewable Energy Generation - by installed capacity and type Annual Monitoring Report 2010 Original Core Output Indicator Reference No. and Description centre(s) This will continue to be included in Watford s AMR within a bundle of Local Output Indicators on Transport LOCAL SERVICES 4a Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development 4b Amount of completed retail, office and leisure development in town centres Indicator to be removed 4c Amount of eligible open spaces managed to Green Flag award standard This will be included within a bundle of Local Output Indicators on the Environment FLOOD PROTECTION AND WATER QUALITY 7. Number of planning permissions granted contrary to the advice of the Environment Agency on either flood defence grounds or water quality BIODIVERSITY Indicator to be removed 8. Change in areas and populations of biodiversity importance, including: (i) change in priority habitats and species (by type) This will be included within a bundle of Local Output Indicators on the Environment ii) Change in areas designated for their intrinsic environmental value including sites of international, national, regional, sub-regional or local significance. RENEWABLE ENERGY 9. Renewable energy capacity installed by type 95

97 96 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix 5. Local Development Scheme Timetable and Milestones the revised LDS approved by Government Office July 2007 Year Date Core Strategy Site Allocations DC DPD Additional Issues and Issues and Options Options work, including stage further work on evidence base 2007 Apr 2007 May 2007 Jun 2007 Jul 2007 Aug 2007 Sep 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2008 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 May 2008 Jun 2008 Jul 2008 Aug 2008 Sep 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2009 Jan 2009 Feb 2009 Mar 2009 Apr 2009 May 2009 Jun 2009 Jul Preparation of Preferred Options, and initial SA/SEA Report Consultation on Preferred Options and SA/SEA Report Preparation of submission DPD and SA/SEA Report Submission of DPD and SA/SEA Report Pre-examination meeting Examination hearings begin 2009 Aug 2009 Sep Adoption 2009 Oct Publication 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2010 Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar Later Preparation of Preferred Options and initial SA/SEA Report Consultation on Preferred Options and SA/SEA Report Preparation of Submission DPD and SA/SEA Report Submission of DPD and SA/SEA Report Pre-examination meeting Examination hearings begin Issues and Options stage Preparation of Preferred Options and initial SA/SEA Report Consultation on Preferred Options and initial SA/SEA Report Preparation of Submission DPD and SA/SEA Report Submission of DPD and SA/SEA Report June 2010 Pre-examination meeting Oct 2010 Examination begins January 2011 Adoption Sep 2010 Adoption Aug 2011 Residential Design Guide SPD Consultation on draft (began in March) Adoption and Publication

98 Annual Monitoring Report Appendix 6. Watford Context Map 97