Housing Land Audit: guidance

Deliverability factors

64. NPF4 defines deliverable land as land that is free of constraints or where there is a commitment to overcome constraints, and development is able to be delivered in the period identified for the site within the deliverable housing land pipeline.

65. LDPs prepared following adoption of NPF4 should allocate deliverable land – no sites should automatically roll forward from previous plans. This provides a different context for the annual HLA to consider deliverability factors than previously.

66. The factors below should be used in the preparation of a HLA to determine deliverability of a site on the base date of the audit. Sites should be reviewed each year for their current position and changes in circumstances are expected. It may be helpful for the planning authority to also use these factors alongside the site appraisal methodology developed and considered during the preparation of the LDP.

• Land Use Status - housing is the sole preferred use of the site, or if housing is one of a range of possible uses, other factors such as ownership point to housing being a realistic option.
• Ownership - the site is in the ownership or control of a party which can be expected to develop it or to release it for development. Where a site is in the ownership of a local authority or other public body, it should be included only where it is part of a programme of land disposal.
• Physical Conditions - the site, or relevant part of it, is free from constraints related to slope, aspect, flood risk, contamination, pipelines, ground stability or access, which would preclude its development for housing. Where there is a commitment to removing constraints in time to allow development in the period identified for the site, or financial matters are sufficient to fund remedial work required, the site should be considered as ‘deliverable with constraints’.
• Infrastructure - the site is either free of infrastructure constraints, or any required infrastructure can be realistically provided to allow development. The Glossary of NPF4 outlines elements of infrastructure that relate to the infrastructure first approach.
• Financial – implications for the site related to wider economic matters such as:
  • the cost of finance, labour, expertise and materials;
  • deficit funding being committed from public sources; and,
  • marketability across local authority areas and changes to this, such as through regeneration.

The above financial matters change over time and influence strategic choices by individual businesses/organisations therefore whilst they are valid considerations, they should not be the sole reason a site is not determined as deliverable.

67. In considering the deliverability factors, actions to address any constraints and the appropriate stakeholder responsible to progress them should inform the Delivery Programme.