LOCAL INVESTMENT PLAN - January 2011 - Tendring District ...
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LOCAL INVESTMENT PLAN January 2011
Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
FOREWORD
Tendring has produced its first ever Local
Investment Plan - a vision for the future.
The aim of the document is to pull together our
housing and regeneration priorities, linking our
ambitions for the District with a clear set of
priorities that will benefit our residents and the
entire area.
We want to make it absolutely clear to
potential investors and funders, primarily the
Homes and Communities Agency, where we
need support to deliver our vision.
The potential development of Harwich as a major windport is a once in a
lifetime opportunity which must be grabbed with both hands.
It will act as the catalyst to create long term employment and we must do all in
our power to exploit all that the alternative energy sector has to offer.
At the same time it is our firm goal to tackle the problems that see parts of our
District, particularly Jaywick, suffer from poor housing, physical and social
problems. That is not acceptable.
We want to create a District where everybody has the ability and the same
chances to build a better life for themselves and their families.
At a time of financial austerity we promise that every penny of public money is
focused on delivering positive change for Tendring.
This plan is very much a living document which will be regularly revisited and
reviewed to make sure that we grasp all the emerging opportunities as they
come along.
Neil Stock
Executive Leader
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
CONTENTS
Section Page
Attestation 4
Executive Summary 5
1 Introduction to the Local Investment Plan – LIP 7
2 Tendring District 8
3 Development of the LIP 9
4 Governance arrangements for the future 10
5 Tendring’s organisation and values 11
6 Tendring’s Vision 11
7 Our Vision of Tendring in 2016 12
8 Sub-regional engagement & cross boundary growth 14
9 Regeneration vision and priorities 15
10 Consultation and working with communities 18
11 Housing, People, Jobs – the current context 20
12 People and the community 21
13 Gypsy and traveller accommodation 22
14 Housing, home ownership and affordability 23
15 Alternative affordable housing 25
16 Rural housing 27
17 Priorities and delivering affordable housing 27
18 Jaywick – the background 29
19 Jobs and the local economy 30
20 Tackling worklessness 30
21 Skills and capacity building 31
22 Jobs target 31
23 Sustainability 32
24 Infrastructure 32
25 Transport 33
26 Accessibility 35
27 Utilities 35
28 The link between the issues and priorities 39
29 Investment priorities 40
30 Harwich 40
31 Jaywick 45
32 Clacton-on-Sea 56
33 Walton-on-the-Naze 62
Appendix 1 Project Schedule 71
Appendix 2 Affordable housing pipeline 76
Appendix 3 Potential development sites 83
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
ATTESTATION
On behalf of both Tendring District Council and the Homes and Communities
Agency the following terms are set out for audit purposes on behalf of both
parties: -
a) This Agreement is not legally binding upon the parties.
b) Nothing contained in or carried out pursuant to this Agreement and
no consents given by the Agency or the Council will prejudice the
Agency's or the Council’s (as appropriate) rights, powers or duties
and/or obligations in the exercise of its functions or under any
statutes, byelaws, instruments, orders or regulations.
c) This Agreement is without prejudice to the Council’s functions as a
local planning authority and / or the Agency’s functions and both
parties may continue to exercise such functions as if they were not
a party to this Agreement.
d) This Agreement is subject to the constitutional right of any future
Parliament and/or the Agency’s Sponsor Department to determine
the amount of money to be made available to the Agency in any
year and the purpose for which such money can be used.
e) This Agreement is also subject to the terms of the Framework
Document between the Agency and its sponsor department, as the
same may be amended or replaced from time to time. Signed:
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Local Investment Plan will be the mechanism through which the Homes
and Communities Agency and the Council will jointly determine the
Government’s future housing and regeneration related financial support for
specific housing and regeneration projects.
It has been developed jointly with public sector partners and is based upon a
robust evidence base. The emerging document was subject to an HCA Peer
Review in December 2010.
The LIP draws upon a wide range of the Council’s existing policy and strategy
documents, many of which have been subject to extensive public and
stakeholder consultation including the current consultation on the Core
Strategy. For that reason a separate consultation exercise has not been
undertaken. The key aim remains to deliver the Council’s vision for Tendring:-
By 2016 Tendring will be a vibrant, healthy
and attractive place to live, work and visit
The Plan identifies the various challenges that Tendring faces including:-
• While Tendring has one of the highest levels of inward migration the
proportion of residents aged over 65 is above 26% compared with a
national average of some 16%.
• 32.57% of households are single occupation which places Tendring in the
top 20% nationally.
• 30% of properties are dependent upon Housing Benefit.
• There is an annual affordable housing shortfall of 1,580 dwellings.
• In five years it is anticipated that over 73% of new households will be
unable to afford private sector housing.
• The quality of life, employment opportunities and life expectancy varies
considerably across the district.
• Low levels of educational attainment albeit improving in recent years.
• High levels of unemployment especially amongst the 16-24 age group.
• A fragile economic base with a preponderance of small companies and a
high proportion of professionals commuting out the district to work each
day.
• There is an infrastructure deficit which with the announced reductions in
public sector funding will be increasingly difficult to address. Key areas
affected include health care, the physical transport network and the utilities.
Tendring has the largest proportion of the population within the coastal strip of
anywhere in Essex and it exhibits all the traits of coastal communities that
have suffered from continual decline over the last four decades. The Council
has put in place a range of policies and strategies to redress this position but
it cannot deliver these solutions on its own. These strategies focus on a joint
public and private sector approach to investment using innovative approaches
and new ways of working.
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
An holistic approach to addressing the social, physical economic and
environmental renewal is being adopted and the LIP is one of the
mechanisms being used. Four key parts of Tendring have been identified for
investment/development which will collectively address many but not all of the
district’s issues.:-
• Harwich with a focus on the windport development opportunities
• Jaywick
• Clacton
• Walton
The relative priority of each area will be the subject on on-going review as the
delivery timescales associated with each are very different. The Plan needs to
be flexible to enable partners to react to changing circumstances and give
them the ability to maximise opportunities as they arise.
The Plan includes details of key investment sites that have been identified
through a range of Regeneration Frameworks for each of these areas. Many
have been the subject of financial and viability appraisals as part of the
development of the relevant Framework document. In a number of cases they
have also been the subject of soft market testing to establish their
attractiveness to the private sector. In a majority of cases a funding gap has
been identified which through the LIP and further specific project appraisals
the Council will be seeking HCA support.
The Council has ambitious plans, articulated in its Regeneration and Tourism
Strategies to transform the District over the coming decade. These Plans
include:-
• Redressing the demographic imbalance by attracting new investments in
the leisure and tourism sectors creating new sustainable jobs.
• Taking advantage of the development of the alternative energy sector
especially the once in a lifetime opportunity of a windport development at
Harwich.
• Focussing new developments on key population centres with major
sustainable developments with a good life/work opportunities.
• Securing new facilities and attraction to make the Tendring coastal a
unique destination for water based activities.
• Maximising the potential of Harwich which is one of the major UK
‘gateways’
• Attracting a wider portfolio of employers to the district providing a range of
employment opportunities and higher value jobs.
• The provision of a range of affordable housing tenures as part of new
balanced mixed housing developments.
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
1. INTRODUCTION TO THE LOCAL INVESTMENT PLAN (LIP)
Background and purpose
The Local Investment Plan (LIP) brings together into one holistic document
Tendring District Council’s housing investment and regeneration priorities and
articulates the link between the district’s priorities, needs, ambition and
deliverables. It has been produced in collaboration with key partners to
identify resource deficits. It is an iterative document and will change to reflect
what is practical and deliverable giving the changing economic landscape.
It draws on the priorities for a local area as set out in key local plans and is an
iterative and dynamic process. At its core will be the shared visions and
objectives for the District identifying the key deliverables which the District will
work with its partners to put in place.
The Plan will articulate the shared priorities of all stakeholders, the local
authority, the HCA and other partner agencies. LIP will be the starting point for
partners to consider resource allocation to local areas. The diagram below
sets out the scope of the Local investment Plan.
The LIP includes material that has already been subject to separate public
consultations and therefore it will not be the subject of a further public
consultation.
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
2. TENDRING DISTRICT
The district is part of the East of England region and, located on the north-
eastern tip of the county of Essex, it forms part of the Haven Gateway. It is 60
miles north east of London and covers an area of 130 square miles. Tendring
is a coastal district and a peninsula bordered by the Stour Estuary to the
north, the North Sea to the south and east and the Colne estuary to the south-
west. The western inland boundary of the district abuts the large town of
Colchester. In commercial terms it is known for its major international gateway
port of Harwich and the tourism centres of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-
Sea and Clacton-on-Sea.
The settlement pattern is dispersed rather than centred on one principal town.
The largest settlements are located on the extensive coastline and estuaries
with the inland area comprising of a rural hinterland containing more than 27
individual villages as well as a variety of hamlets of varying size. The district’s
largest settlement is Clacton-on-Sea with a population nearly three times the
size of any other settlement. The major part of the perimeter has a water
frontage extending from just above Manningtree on the south bank of the
River Stour to Wivenhoe on the east bank of the River Colne, a distance of
some 38 miles.
The area has a mix of characteristics from rural districts in the North West to
the holiday resorts of Clacton, Frinton and Walton and the port of Harwich,
each with its own individual characteristics. Tourism in Tendring is worth an
estimated £200 million per annum to the local economy. The population of the
area is over 148,000 with nearly 30% of pensionable age. The population is
expected to grow by 18% to some 171,000 residents over the next 16 years.
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE LOCAL INVESTMENT PLAN
The development of the Tendring District Council Local Investment Plan (LIP)
has been led by a multi-disciplinary team including senior managers from
Housing, Planning, Environmental Services, Asset Management, Finance and
supported externally by the Homes and Communities Agency, Go East, and
Essex County Council. Members were appraised of the process throughout
its development and other services such as Revenues and Benefits input
specialist knowledge as the process developed. The Partners formed a
working group which has met frequently during the development of the LIP to
steer the process and to ensure that the LIP fully reflected all partners’
interests.
Summary of the aims of our Local Investment Plan
The object of the LIP is to demonstrate that investment in Tendring will:
• Meet the significant need for additional housing and infrastructure
• Meet key HCA objectives in delivering sustainable growth and regeneration
• Represent excellent value for money
• Demonstrate that growth and regeneration projects in Tendring can be
delivered
• Help prioritise investment opportunities
The LIP provides an introduction to Tendring supported by detailed evidence
setting out the strategic case for Tendring. The appendices draw on a range
of policy documents to provide this evidence. Figure 2 demonstrates the key
documents drawn on to develop the LIP.
Spatial
Local Strategic Housing
Planning Development Market Housing
Framework Assessment
Regeneration Strategy
Tendring District
Council Local Sub – regional
Investment Plan /Local Housing
Strategy
Regeneration
plans Walton,
Clacton, Harwich
, Jaywick
Essex JSNA
Tendring Economic
Assessment
Economic
Development Communities
Figure 1: LIP and links
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Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
The crucial part of Tendring District Council LIP is the investment and
intervention priorities set out in the later sections of the plan together with the
intervention funding requirements, which demonstrates the continued
commitment, ambition and vision of the Council and its partners over the next
five years (2010 – 2015) and beyond. When delivered these will meet the
significant needs for additional housing, infrastructure, and community
facilities, meet the key objectives for the HCA in delivering sustainable growth
and regeneration, and represent excellent value for money.
The priorities have been identified from existing commitments within the Local
Plan, the Local Development Framework Core Strategy, the Regeneration
Strategy and from discussion with partners. The priorities presented are
important to the District to ensure that it is able to continue to perform against
its policy targets and take forward and deliver its vision and objectives for the
District.
The current status of individual priorities has been determined based on our
knowledge and that of our partners. These are live projects and the position
will change as the LIP and associated projects progress. Many of the projects
are presently at various stages of negotiation with the aim of working to
achieve a viable project.
The intervention funding identified in Appendix A of this document is based on
the best available information at the time and will be subject to further analysis
and priority change as projects progress and more information becomes
available. On the larger strategic sites it assumes that assistance will be
required to provide the critical infrastructure i.e. Walton marine works. It also
assumes that where affordable housing is to be provided as a planning policy
requirement and forms part of a Section 106 agreement, it will be provided
without intervention funding. However, it is important to note that due to the
low land values in many areas of Tendring it is unlikely that affordable housing
will be viable without grant funding. This will be covered in more detail later in
the report.
The priorities included in the Tendring District Council LIP show that through
partnership working and with ongoing investment and intervention it can:
• Deliver in excess of 6,500 homes, of which more than 1,950 would be
affordable.
• Unlock over 31 hectares of land for employment, meeting our strategic
employment requirements up to 2026.
4. GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUTURE
Governance of Local Investment Plan
The LIP and methodology for assessing the priorities was formally endorsed
by Tendring’s Cabinet and formally signed off by both the HCA and the
Tendring District Council.
10Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
It is fully recognised that the LIP will be a ‘living document’, the Working
Group referred to at the start of the plan, which played an important part in
shaping the Local Investment Plan, will continue to have a pivotal role in
overseeing and monitoring the delivery of priorities.
The group will meet quarterly to review the status of the LIP and to update it
as projects progress and as additional information is provided. The core group
shall engage with relevant partners and undertake any necessary actions.
Progress on all stages of the development of the plans and delivery will be
regularly reported back to Tendring’s cabinet who will provide a vital steer in
ensuring priorities are effectively translated into delivery.
5. TENDRING’S ORGANISATION AND VALUES
We aim to deliver excellent sustainable services to everyone in the District.
We will work closely with other public service providers in Tendring to ensure
the best use is made of public money and that people receive services that
are both excellent and joined up. We will also be better connected to the
various communities of Tendring, to give real opportunities for people to link
into the work of the Council and influence our services and decisions and to
improve the reputation of the Council.
Our values set out the kind of organisation we want to be, how we want to
work and how we want others to see us.
We expect all Councillors and staff to uphold and promote the values of
personal integrity, honesty and respect for others.
We want the people working for the Council to be innovative, flexible,
professional and committed to delivering excellent public services and real
benefits to the people of Tendring.
As an organisation we will make decisions which are sustainable and which
reflect the diversity of our communities and the equality of individuals. Our
joint objectives with our core Local Strategic Partnership partners are
articulated in the Sustainable Community Strategy 2008-2016.
The Council’s Corporate Plan - Tendring Life sets out its ambitions and
objectives for the district.
6. TENDRING’S VISION
By 2016 Tendring will be a vibrant, healthy and attractive
place to live, work and visit.
11Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
7. OUR VISION OF TENDRING IN 2016
Our Vision for Tendring has been developed by considering what sort of
changes we want to bring about to shape the District over the next decade.
We want to ensure that;-
By 2016 Tendring will have a thriving and prosperous economy. All our
residents will be able to access a safe and healthy quality of life in an
attractive environment.
Each of our communities will offer a range of new housing and other important
services and facilities, and children and young people will have the
opportunity to have a good start in life.
Our description of what Tendring could be like by that time is set out below:-
• Looking back the District has changed significantly over the past nine
years.
• The economy of Harwich has received a significant boost from the new port
development and the new Harwich Waterfront projects including the marina
with related housing and commercial facilities which are attracting
increasing numbers of day and foreign visitors. Additional leisure facilities
are planned along Dovercourt seafront and the town centre has been
upgraded with a new street market. There is a new dynamism and vitality
about the town.
• The Walton Regeneration Framework has brought new leisure investment
opportunities and the management strategy for the Backwaters has been a
great success.
• Brightlingsea is benefiting from its new waterside housing, together with
associated spin-offs including restaurants and bars.
• Following the completion of the Clacton Town Centre environmental
enhancements, developer interest in a new pedestrian retail mall led to
additional national retailers moving into the town centre.
• Significant work has gone on in promoting and marketing Clacton as a
holiday destination and an attractive place to live. Proximity to Colchester,
with its growing employment opportunities, London and the A12/A14 has
meant more people looking to relocate to the District to enjoy the new
leisure opportunities. New hotels, conference and other facilities in Clacton
have attracted visitors, together with the new ‘offshore barrages’ sea
defences, eventually funded by the Government and promenade
development.
• The Jaywick regeneration project continues towards its final phase with
several new housing developments and associated services.
12Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
Environmental enhancement and public realm projects have transformed
the area.
• Frinton and Walton continue to occupy a special place in the District with
planning policies ensuring that several new seafront developments have
been designed in sympathy with local character.
• Perhaps the biggest achievement in the District has been a rise in the
educational standards, with more children staying on in education post 16.
Better exam results are being achieved and vocational opportunities
continue to be expanded with a wide range of practical training courses
available.
• This has been supported by health improvements, including longer life
expectancy, declining numbers of smokers and less obesity amongst
children. Parents in particular, have become much more health conscious
and, aware of the long term detrimental health impacts of these problems,
are now taking more personal responsibility to help to solve them.
• More health services are being outsourced from the major hospitals, so a
greater range of care facilities including tele-medicine, are available closer
to the home whilst Children’s Centres continue to provide a wide range of
family support services.
• Tendring remains a safe and pleasant district to live in. Neighbourhood
policing linked to local Action Panels involving the community in tackling
local issues have paid dividends. ASBOs have had an effect in reducing
youth crime and diversionary schemes continue to be effective in tacking
crime in the area.
• The Police are increasingly using improvements in forensic science and
technology to achieve convictions, such as fingerprint recognition at the
roadside.
• Developments in the youth agenda, through the active involvement of the
Tendring Youth Assembly and Creative Partnerships, have been
accompanied by an ongoing focus on older people, with joint initiatives
between health and social services, reducing the extent of long term
limiting illness and allowing more people to live in their own homes.
• Race relations continue to be good with more migrant workers supporting
the growth in various sectors of the economy.
• The interest in personal fitness - stimulated by the Lifestyles Leisure Centre
investment changed dramatically as a result of the Country’s achievements
in the London Olympics. Sport and recreation has become a central feature
of both school activities and children’s spare time.
• The expanded Clacton off-shore wind farm signalled a major drive to
reduce CO2 levels across the District, strengthened by tougher emission
13Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
standards for all new buildings and active measures by the public sector to
reduce its energy consumption.
• Technology has supported the development of the District, particularly the
success of the wireless broadband links in public places, allowing lap top
access on the move. Home computing is becoming more and more
pervasive in all kinds of ways. Home entertainment technology offers a
wide range of personalised opportunities and an increasing proportion of
the Tendring population now work from home at least once a week.
• Regeneration in our rural areas has been boosted by improved public
transport including schemes, such as the “dial a bus” services. The
diversification of the agricultural economy has been accompanied by more
small businesses and tourism initiatives. Local Councils are increasingly
taking responsibility for public space and local environmental issues.
• The Lawford/Manningtree/Mistley area continues to benefit from its
transport links to London with increasing ‘disposable income’ being spent
locally. Mistley’s ‘riverside development’ phase 1 has just been completed
with phase 2 due to commence shortly. The development of new
community facilities in the Centre of Manningtree and recognition of the
School as a Sports Centre of Excellence, have supported this growth.
The Council will develop proposals with its communities in line with the
emerging delivery framework being proposed in the Localism Bill.
8. SUB REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT & CROSS BOUNDARY
GROWTH
The Haven Gateway sub-region is identified in the East of England Plan as
one of four areas in the region for which the "coherence and particular nature
of the issues and responses justifies sub-area treatment". As well as the
regional cities of Ipswich and Colchester, the sub-region is defined in relation
to the internationally-significant Haven Ports (principally Felixstowe, Harwich
and Ipswich), its market and coastal towns, and its high quality rural
hinterland. The Haven Gateway "includes the key areas for change in Ipswich
and Colchester and has the potential to develop further as a major focus for
economic development and growth".
The sub-regional affordable housing programme is overseen by the Greater
Haven Gateway Steering Group (GHGSG) which in addition to the 6 Haven
Gateway local authorities also includes Braintree and Maldon District Councils
(both in Essex). The Homes and Communities Agency, Essex and Suffolk
Supporting People, Registered Social Landlords, Go-East and the Rural
Housing Enablers also have a place on the group.
The Greater Haven Gateway recognises the importance of working closely
with the Haven Gateway Partnership to provide a single conversation on
behalf of the sub-region.
14Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
In December 2010 Tendring became part of the newly created Essex, Kent
and East Sussex Local Enterprise Partnership. During 2011 the Partnership
will be developing its strategic objectives and the importance of addressing
Jaywick and the establishment of a Windport and alternative energy sector
focussed on Harwich International Port and Bathside Bay will be the two key
issues Tendring want to see that strategy address.
The direction of the GHGSG is informed by the sub regional Housing Strategy
which was agreed in 2004. This is currently being reviewed and a new
strategy is due to be published in September 2010.
Their vision is: to ensure everyone can live in a decent home which meets
their needs, at a price they can afford, and in locations that are sustainable.
Key areas of focus include:
• building up an evidence base of housing need in the sub-region including
strategic housing market assessments,
• working together to expand housing choice by developing a 'choice based
lettings' scheme,
• sharing best practise to secure developer contributions for affordable
housing
• working together to maximise resources available from the Homes and
Communities Agency
• Affordable Housing Objectives
9. REGENERATION VISION AND PRIORITIES
The Council’s corporate vision is built around three key priorities: Our
Prosperity, Our People and Our Place.
It is driven by the general needs of the whole of Tendring and the specific
needs of certain places and communities within the District. Its purpose is to
focus the full resources of the Council on the most important economic, social
and environmental improvements needed to make Tendring a place to be truly
proud of. It links with the objectives of the Sustainable Community Strategy
which we have agreed with our partners, sets out the Council’s own
objectives, and turns them into outcomes which we will aim to achieve by
2016.
These ambitions are further articulated in the Council’s Regeneration Strategy
‘Tendring Life – roads to success’ approved in May 2010 which sets out the
Council’s long term aims to shape and develop Tendring. This is the core
regeneration driver.
There are six key themes which will guide and shape the interventions needed
to achieve the vision. The Strategy sets out the key priorities, the way forward,
actions and the results successful delivery will produce.
15Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
Coastal Renaissance
Tendring has the longest coastal and river frontage of any district in the UK
with the vast majority of its population living within two miles of the water.
From Mistley and Manningtree onto the historic port town of Harwich past the
traditional seaside resorts of Walton, Frinton and Clacton right round to
Brightlingsea; Tendring offers a range of unique opportunities on which to
base the leisure economy. We intend to capitalise upon these by:-
• Implementing a separate Tourism Strategy
• Investing in the regeneration of Harwich to re-establish it as the major
heritage centre of Tendring; maximising the potential of its role as a major
gateway into the UK for visitors.
• Securing with our partners new marina facilities for the east coast (The
Tourism Strategy identifies Harwich and Clacton as the key locations)
• Taking a positive approach to the protection of our coastline from changing
sea-levels and the impact of climate change on our coastline.
• Developing Regeneration Action Plans for our key centres of Clacton,
Harwich, Walton, Brightlingsea and Lawford/Manningtree/Mistley.
• Focus the majority of new housing growth in Clacton.
21st Century Resorts
The district has the capacity to reinvent itself as a major seaside destination
and become truly 21st century seaside resorts offering high quality all year
round visitor experience. To achieve this we will:-
• Develop major new all weather multi-purpose facilities including a new
conference/entertainment facility.
• Promote investment opportunities to attract leading brands and providers to
Clacton.
• Undertake further public realm improvements to the Town Centre and
connect it to the seafront to provide a complete visitor experience.
• With retailers and businesses develop a range of ‘twilight’ activities and
events to bridge the gap between the daytime and night economies.
• Deliver specific initiatives to improve the visitor experience
• Develop and implement proposals to provide new facilities on the seafront
initially utilising the Council’s own sites as catalysts for change.
• Expand the events programme to provide activities and attractions outside
the traditional summer holiday period.
• Promote the distinctive character of our resorts.
Getting connected
The geography of the District and the distribution of its key population centres
make its current physical infrastructure a serious impediment to longer term
growth and prosperity. The ability to improve journey times and access to all
parts of Tendring will have a massive impact upon the area’s competitive
position and improve its attraction to a wide variety of inward investors. To
achieve this we aim to:-
• Seek to encourage the upgrading and improvement of the A120 as a major
trunk road priority.
16Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
• Secure the improvement of the A133 from Frating to Weeley and a new link
road from the A133 to serve West Clacton.
• Secure appropriate upgrades to the road network to improve cross-district
accessibility.
• Securing a new access road to serve the western part of Clacton.
• Ensure that all parts of the district are served by quality public transport that
provides access to services and jobs.
We also want to maximise the potential of Harwich as an international
gateway and a major port of entry for the 2012 Olympics.
Dynamic Business Environment
We support the diversification and strengthening of the economy and want to
stimulate the creation of the higher quality jobs required to raise Gross Value
Added (GVA) and reduce the current levels of out-commuting by professional
and skilled staff. Supporting the development of existing businesses will make
the biggest contribution to our economic success. We want Tendring to be
known as an area that is ‘Open for business’. To achieve this we will:-
• Provide start-up and grow-on managed workspaces with partners.
• Facilitate the development of a new mixed use business park on the
outskirts of Clacton with high quality office, commercial and retail
opportunities.
• Investigate innovative support packages such as rent and rate ‘holidays’ to
help new and growing businesses.
• Ensure that the District’s planning policy the Local Development
Framework is flexible and receptive to investment opportunities.
• Allocate commercially deliverable employment sites.
• Attract businesses in the creative and alternative energy sectors to secure
higher quality jobs for our residents.
People and jobs
Our people are the most important asset and helping them prepare for their
working life is critical. The District needs a trained and motivated workforce. A
key target will be to ensure that the number of young people who are not in
education, employment and training (NEET’s) is at or below the national
average. To properly equip our young people with the skills a modern
workforce needs we will:-
• Actively promote a new further education academy to serve the district.
• Investigate introducing a local bursary scheme to ensure all school leavers
have access to work-based training.
• Ensure that education and training is provided which aligns with the needs
of our key business sectors.
• Ensure partners deliver targeted intervention to address the specific needs
of those living in the disadvantaged parts of Tendring.
• Proactively seek to increase the percentage of the working age population
with qualifications to above the national average.
• Encourage life-long learning opportunities.
17Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
Our Communities
Our success depends on attractive and prosperous communities where
people want to live and work. We need to build upon the strong identities and
individual character of our key centres and market towns. We want to ensure
that all our communities enjoy the same quality of life and access to services.
There will be a focus upon the pockets of deprivation across the District as a
key part of our strategy. We will:-
• Take an innovative approach to planning and planning policies in our town
centres to encourage their diversification and make them leisure time
destinations and not just shopping centres.
• Continue to invest in the regeneration of Jaywick with our partners.
• Work towards ensuring that no area of the District is within the top 20% of
the most deprived areas in the UK.
• Ensure a range of high quality housing to meet the needs of current and
future residents is delivered by developers.
• Reduce rural isolation and improve communications by securing high
speed Broadband access to all parts of the District. Protect and preserve
our rural environment.
• Develop and maximise our cultural and heritage assets.
10. CONSULTATION AND WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES
The plans and targets set out within the LIP have been subject to extensive
consultation with both partners and the communities which they are aimed at
assisting. Each of the regeneration frameworks has been the subject of public
consultation and Member engagement.
Further consultation via the Core Strategy, regeneration delivery framework
and tourism delivery framework will help to refine specific regeneration plans.
The Core Strategy has recently been subject to public consultation and any
changes resulting from the consultation will be fed into the LIP and updated
accordingly. The Council is keen to work with communities in developing
‘community budgets’ to focus and co-ordinate service delivery to family
groups, in association with Essex County Council one of the recently
designated pilot areas for this approach.
The Haven Gateway Partnership
The Haven Gateway Partnership is an unincorporated association which was
launched in 2001. The Haven Gateway is designated as a growth area where
a significant proportion of the region’s growth in new jobs and housing is
expected to take place and where funding is allocated for new infrastructure to
support regeneration and facilitate these high levels of growth. The Core
Strategy and Area Action Plan seek to reflect the district’s important role
within the Haven Gateway and help to deliver the sub- regional objectives of
the Haven Gateway Partnership. In referring to Tendring's Coastal resorts The
Framework for Growth state that:-
18Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
“All four of these coastal resorts within the Tendring district also show,
to varying degrees, the consequences of a lack of investment and
evidence of acute deprivation in some areas”
And in respect of Clacton that:-
“A five-year programme of investment is being developed, based around
key sites already identified. Discussions are under way with landowners
about land assembly or joint investment projects.”
The Coastal Renaissance Partnership Board (CRPB)
A shared recognition has emerged with regard to the vital importance of
coastal tourism and the coastal economy to the whole of Tendring. This has
resulted in the recent formation of a joint Coastal Renaissance Partnership
Board by the County Council, at the heart of the which is a desire to seek the
best way to “join up” the delivery of regeneration. The District Council is
represented at Member and Officer level on the Board along with other
partners including Essex County Council and the Environment Agency
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE)
Following a successful bid to the government, enablers working on behalf of
the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) have been
working with the Council on a pilot scheme to engage with a handful of rural
communities to give local people the tools and techniques to allow them to
better engage with the planning and development process and help manage
change and growth in their village. With certain villages under threat from
unsympathetic development and uncontrolled growth, the involvement of the
community in shaping and managing that growth and ensuring development is
of a scale, design, layout and nature that will genuinely address local needs,
is sympathetic to local character and is sustainable within local infrastructure
constraints, is crucial and very much in line with current government thinking.
The project also comes in response to concerns that young people are being
priced out of their own villages due to a shortage of affordable housing and
the concern that rural areas could decline unless they are backed by an
injection of new housing, jobs, services and facilities.
To date, CABE have assisted the Council in holding a number of
presentations to key stakeholders and holding a public workshop in each of
the five villages involved in the project (Alresford, Elmstead Market, Little
Clacton, Thorpe-le-Soken and Weeley). The feedback from these is helping to
inform the Council’s approach to rural growth in its emerging LDF Core
Strategy. Ultimately, the Council is keen for these communities, inspired by
the advice offered by CABE, to begin preparing their own ‘Community Plans’
which will heavily influence the more detailed LDF ‘Site Allocations Document’
and provide local design guidance that will be a material consideration in
determining planning applications.
19Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
11. HOUSING, JOBS, PEOPLE – THE CURRENT CONTEXT
Existing housing market characteristics (Link - TendringSHMA.pdfI
In Tendring there is an overwhelming need for affordable housing (over 1,500
units per annum)1 mainly in the social rented market. This is more than 3
times the number of all kinds of housing expected to be built. The majority of
demand for both market and affordable housing is in the Clacton area and this
demand is spread across all house sizes. This is expanded upon later in the
plan.
It is important that the scale of the shortfall in affordable housing provision
within the District is understood as it far out ways the shortfall in other near
neighbour Authority areas. It also needs to be recognised that meeting
historic and future needs or even current demand is going to be a massive
challenge as it is unlikely that even with funding all affordable housing needs
will be met in the short to medium term. Within the owner-occupied sector,
the main shortfall presently is for one and two bedroom homes whilst there is
a surplus of three and four bedroom accommodation. This very much reflects
the smaller household and elderly population demographics of the area There
is a large surplus of private rented housing for all dwelling sizes albeit that
some of this stock is non decent.
Currently 4,761 households are living in unsuitable housing (7.9% of all
households). Of those 39.7% needed to move to more suitable
accommodation to solve the problem, representing 1,888 households. Of
these 1,380 would be looking to remain living in the District. 2
It is estimated that there will be an additional 889 households forming per year
in the Tendring District over the next 5 years of which it is estimated 73.4%
will be unable to afford private sector housing.3
There are 3,500 homes in the private sector that do not meet the minimum
housing decency standard, which represents 6.2% of all private homes in the
district.4
Demand for Housing is highest in Clacton with the Frinton/Walton sub area
being the second highest area of demand.5 Whilst Jaywick has been identified
as the most significant challenge for the Council in terms of housing issues,
and is the subject of a separate section in this document, housing investment
in these areas is seen as a key area of activity for the council in the short term
as it is recognised that a longer term strategy is required at Jaywick. This will
be covered later in the Plan.
1
Tendring SHMA 2008
2
SHMA
3
SHMA
4
SHMA
5
Local housing information
20Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
12. PEOPLE AND THE COMMUNITY
The population of Tendring is expected to grow significantly between now and
2026 (by around 13%). As the district is a popular area for retirement,
particularly in the coastal towns, it has a higher proportion of over 65’s than
any other part of the country and the average age of a Tendring resident is
higher than the regional average. Related to this, there is a much higher than
average proportion of residents that suffer with a long-term illness. Whilst
there are issues with lower than average educational achievement and
deprivation, crime levels in Tendring are relatively low but face a recent
upward trend.
Tendring has a steadily growing population of around 148,000 with the
second highest levels of net inward migration in regional terms. The
proportion of the population classified as White was 94.80%, which is average
by national standards. The proportion of the resident population aged 65 and
over was estimated at 26.42% in 2008. By comparison, the Essex figure was
17.05% and the national average was 16.24%. This will have a significant
effect on both demand for support services but also on other areas such as
the housing market, care home provision, council tax receipts etc. , which will
provide resourcing challenges for both Tendring District Council and Essex
County Council
In 2001 the proportion of one person households was 32.57%, which is very
high by national standards, with Tendring ranking in the top 20% of districts. In
comparison the proportion of lone parent households was 3.90% in 2005,
which is very low by national standards, with Tendring ranking in the bottom
20% of districts.1 This exemplifies the older, single person household make
up of Tendring and underlines the revenue challenges the district will face in
terms of council tax discounts of single occupancy.
Tendring has a high proportion of elderly residents and as can be seen from
the above figure this proportion is expected to increase with a high net in-
migration of pensioners, single adults and adults with no children. In
1
Local Futures (2010)
21Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
particular the increase in pensioners and single adult households is seen as
driving the housing market to deliver smaller units which in turn discourages
family households from moving into the District. This may be a very simplistic
view of market cause and effect but the consequences for Tendring are
significant both financially but also socially as single household discounts on
Council tax reduce resources whilst significant strain is placed on care
services to provide support for aging residents. Employment patterns, which
are already skewed towards low skilled employment associated with tourism
are further distorted by a labour market requirement for a labour supply to
service care support provision, which is also a low skill area.
Whilst there is a case to be made for this demographic pattern pointing
towards a need to enhance the provision of and for supporting more the
needs of this increasing elderly population there is an emerging concern that
increasing provision for this sector will merely act as an incentive of increased
migration to the district of those with higher care needs. The Council is striving
through its planning and economic development actions to redress the age
imbalance and attract high quality jobs to the area such as those associated
with a windport development.
13. GYPSY AND TRAVELLER ACCOMMODATION
The Council has a statutory duty to address the accommodation needs of
gypsies and travellers and has to identify sites to accommodate a certain
number of ‘pitches’. The Essex Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation
Assessment (GTAA) identifies a need for 6 pitches (over and above the 5
existing pitches) between now and 2013, with a further 2 pitches required
between 2013 and 2021. A number may be identified through the
development control process before 2011, so the discounted remainder will be
brought forward through the LDF Site Allocations Document.
Accordingly, the Council commissioned consultants who have recently
completed a study to identify the appropriate locations and sites. In identifying
sites in the Site Allocation DPD, due regard will be given to Circular 01/2006,
Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites and Circular 04/2007,
Planning for Travelling Showpeople.
Additional assessments will be needed to identify the district requirements for
transit pitches, as well as the separate needs of travelling showpeople, since
the policy requirement of the East of England Plan define both target needs
within areas much larger than district council boundaries. This Council will
work with Essex County Council in identifying requirements.
In the meantime, we have included a policy that sets out the broad criteria for
identifying new gypsy and traveller sites.
In January 2010, Tendring was home to 31 caravans. This was the 4th lowest
in Essex, and represented around 3% of all the caravans in Essex. Although
there are not a large number of caravans in Tendring, over three quarters are
on unauthorised, privately-owned land without planning permission – the
highest rate in Essex. This compares to an Essex average of 30%
22Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
unauthorised caravans. All of the caravans in Tendring are on privately owned
sites; none of the 11 Essex County Council managed sites are located within
the district.
14. HOUSING, HOME OWNERSHIP & AFFORDABILITY
Tendring has seen an average growth in average house prices between 1999
and 2009 of 124.86%. This places the area in the middle 20% of districts
nationally. By comparison, average prices changed nationally by 164.63%.1
79% of dwellings are owner/occupied, 8.8% social rented, 8.4% private rented
and 3.8% other rented including tied properties. The percentage of owner
occupied accommodation is very high and reflects the retirement character of
the area. 2The average gross household income for households in the District
is £20,499, this is low both nationally and regionally but due to the low high
process in some areas of the district affordability levels are relatively high. The
average household in Tendring earned around £2600 less per year than
households in England and Wales and around £3800 less per year than
households in the East of England in 2001. When the sub-areas are looked at
individually the sub-area of Clacton even falls short of the average household
income in Tendring. Indeed, the Clacton sub-area only earns a median
household income of £13,648, almost half that of the East of England average
household income. The sub-areas of Frinton and Harwich also earn median
household incomes of less than £20,000 per year. However, two sub-areas
exceed the median household incomes of Tendring, the East of England and
England and Wales- Mid and West-Tendring- with median household incomes
of £26,213 and £28,213 respectively, up to £2700 more than the East of
England median household income value, showing these areas to be the most
affluent in Tendring. In 2008, the average housing income rose to £24,273,
however, figures were unavailable for household incomes for each of the sub-
areas.3
30%of occupied properties in the Tendring District are dependent upon
Housing Benefit, Council Tax or both. The measures announced by the
Government to revise the benefits system are likely to have a dramatic impact
for Tendring. The general reduction in benefit levels combined with the
reduction in the percentage of market rent levels used to determine Local
Housing Allowance (i.e. 50% to 30%) will inevitably see households struggling
to meet the cost of accommodation. Although the new capping rules are too
high to be of relevance to any property in this district, our proximity to London
is likely to cause inward migration to Tendring from those affected elsewhere.
These changes, together with the review of the welfare system in general, are
likely to significantly increase the demand for affordable accommodation in the
district. There is a clear need to significantly increase the supply of affordable
housing throughout the district. This was demonstrated through the
comprehensive Housing Needs Survey undertaken in 2002 and reaffirmed
through the update prepared by Fordham Research for the Local Plan Inquiry
1
Local Futures (2010)
2
LF 2010
3
LF 2010
23Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
in 2006 and by the Strategic Housing Market Assessment published in July
2008.
The shortfall of affordable housing in the district is primarily as a result of the
historically low levels of social housing provision and the consequent effect on
affordable housing supply.
A major contributory factor for the failure to increase the affordable housing
supply was the modest affordable housing target (25%) and generous site
threshold (40 or more units in urban areas) in the Council’s former Local Plan
policies adopted in 1998 and based on much earlier technical evidence. This
has been rectified through the Local Plan adopted in December 2007 which
contained a new affordable housing target (40%) and a reduced site threshold
(15 or more units in urban areas).
The SHMA includes an affordability and housing needs study which identifies
an affordable housing shortfall of 1,580 dwellings per annum (if all needs met)
as follows:
Locality Annual Need
Clacton on Sea Sub Area 889
Harwich Sub Area 344
Brightlingsea Sub Area 170
Frinton on Sea Sub Area 82
Manningtree Sub Area 71
Mid Tendring Sub Area 15
West Tendring Sub Area 9
Total 1,580
Source: Tendring SHMA – Report 2 Table 9.3
The SHMA estimates that 22% of the affordable need could be met by
intermediate housing (low cost home ownership, shared ownership,
intermediate rent etc.) and the remainder from social rented housing.
For the purposes of relevant comparison, this shortfall is converted into a
Housing Needs Index (affordable housing shortfall per 1,000 households).
The table below shows that housing need in Tendring, at an HNI of 25, is only
slightly less than the average need experienced by the outer London
boroughs and considerably higher than the average need for all England, the
regions or our closest Essex neighbours.
Area Housing Needs Index Score
Inner London 35
Outer London 27
Tendring 25
South West 17
All England 16
Colchester 16
South East Region 16
Chelmsford 13
24Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
East of England 12
Braintree 12
West Midlands 9
North of England 8
East Midlands 8
Data compiled from several sources
15. ALTERNATIVE AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Intermediate Housing
Whilst the highest priority for affordable housing is clearly for increased social
rented accommodation, the Strategic Housing Market Assessment also
identifies that there is an unmet need in the district for the provision of
affordable intermediate housing.
Traditionally, this has been a slow market in Tendring since low average
property prices have meant that households who have income levels to
access low cost home ownership (e.g. shared ownership) are frequently also
able to access full home ownership of low cost market accommodation.
However, the demand for intermediate housing is likely to increase as former
first time buyers are unable to access mortgage products without a substantial
deposit.
Statistically, based on the evidence of housing need, the Council would be
justified in only prioritising the enabling of increased social rented
accommodation and this was demonstrated in the update to the Housing
Needs Survey in 2006. However, there are good reasons why the Council
should also enable the development of intermediate housing.
Firstly, on new developments, especially containing apartments or high
density estates, it is socially beneficial to have a mix of tenures in order to
achieve sustainable communities in the longer term. Those households who
have the absolute highest need, frequently have social and financial problems
that will not be resolved just by enabling them to be re-housed. By creating
large estates of exclusively social rented accommodation the Council could be
potentially creating future ghettos of deprivation and much can be learned
from the mistakes of mass social housing development in the 1960’s and
1970’s including the poor layout and design standards of that period.
Secondly, intermediate housing products are less expensive to develop and
therefore provide a more attractive option for both the developer and the
registered social landlord when being developed as part of a S.106 planning
obligation.
The reason intermediate housing is cheaper to develop is that there is an
increased income stream from either rents (typically at 80% of market value)
or from the capital receipts from shared ownership initial tranche sales and
subsequent stair-casing to full owner occupation. The lower cost also makes
intermediate housing more attractive to the Homes and Communities Agency
since grant rates are lower.
25Local Investment Plan submission 28 January 2011
The intermediate housing market has been significantly affected by the
downturn in the housing market. In recent years, a number of local authorities
have enabled significant levels of shared ownership housing on new
developments either through S.106 planning obligations or through cross
subsidising the social rented element. Unfortunately the demand for shared
ownership, particularly on apartment developments was frequently overstated
and it became necessary to seek financial assistance from the Homes and
Communities Agency to convert the properties to social rent or intermediate
rent to prevent them from remaining empty. Some registered social landlords
have been financially exposed as a result of developing a large portfolio of
shared ownership which will not yield the level of capital receipts that were
anticipated in their financial model for the development.
In the current financial situation, confidence in shared ownership has fallen
further and most social providers are either reluctant to provide this form of
tenure or have difficulty in raising funding from their own lending organisations
for such acquisitions.
Alternative forms of intermediate housing such as intermediate rent to buy
schemes are becoming more popular since the revenue stream is more
certain until the tenants are in a position to progress to part or full owner
occupation at the appropriate time (typically after 5 years).
The provision of intermediate housing will form a significant strand of the
future proposals for increasing affordable housing in Tendring as this will be
key to assisting schemes to remain financial viable in an adverse market.
Importantly, the inclusion of an increased element of intermediate housing will
assist on scheme delivery and also provide housing opportunities for those
groups such as first time buyers who are otherwise excluded from the housing
market.
On sites which are subject to S.106 negotiations for an affordable housing
requirement or on sites where Social Housing Grant is being requested from
the Homes and Communities Agency it is intended to benchmark intermediate
provision of 20% of the total affordable housing to be delivered. There would
be flexibility through the Council’s Development Team process to allow an
increased proportion of intermediate housing subject to an open book
financial appraisal which demonstrates that the viability of the scheme is
dependent on such provision.
On sites which are not subject to a S.106 agreement, the imperative will be to
ensure delivery, and, subject to negotiation with the Registered Social
Landlord, it is intended to support higher levels of sustainable intermediate
housing to ensure the scheme comes forward. In practice, in the right
circumstances, schemes consisting of 100% intermediate housing could be
supported for bids for Social Housing Grant.
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