COMPLETION rates for most of the sites earmarked for housing in Cardiff are below the targets set out in the city council’s annual monitoring report of its development plan.
However, the same report, published on Friday, October 13, states that good progress is being made towards reaching the council’s ultimate house building target.
An LDP is used by local authorities to determine which areas of land it will earmark for development.
The council’s seventh LDP annual monitoring report states: “Due to a combination of site assembly, legal and logistical factors experienced by landowners/developers along with the time required to secure the necessary planning and adoption consents, trajectories of delivery are slower than originally anticipated.
“This includes time spent securing the accompanying Section 106 Agreements which fully deliver the council’s aspirations as set out in the LDP.”
Section 106 agreements are made between local authorities and developers.
They usually involve the developers paying a sum of money towards things that are needed in the area where they are planning to build, like affordable housing or highway improvements.
The council’s report went on to conclude that “good progress is generally being made in delivering the identified targets and monitoring outcomes with the identified lag in housing delivery now showing strong signs of enhanced completions.”
It also shows 2,265 affordable homes have been built since 2014, which is 4,381 homes off the target set in the LDP for the period 2014-2026.
A total of 3,295 new homes have been delivered in Cardiff to date as part of the current LDP.
There is a requirement for 40,000 new jobs to be created over the plan period (2006-2026) and 20,900 jobs were created between 2006 and 2015.
The target for the remaining plan period is for 1,750 jobs to be created annually.
Cardiff Council is currently in the process of developing a replacement LDP (RLDP) which will shape the development of the city until 2036.
A consultation period on the council’s preferred strategy for the RLDP, a proposed 1% growth rate for housing each year, has recently closed.
Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for strategic planning and transport said: “As of October, this year, there are over 8,000 applications from people looking for housing on the council’s waiting list, so there is a clear need to build homes, especially affordable homes, and 6,000 affordable homes could be delivered through the lifetime of the RDLP.
“The council has made it clear that all 26,400 homes required in the RDLP can be delivered through existing planning permissions, or on land which is already identified for new development in the current Local Development Plan.
“Through the latest analysis, 3,295 homes have already been built on the current strategic sites and 2,158 homes are currently under construction in the city, which shows that good progress is being made.
“This means no new land will have to be found as part of the RDLP’s proposed 1% growth strategy for the city to 2036.”
The council’s LDP annual monitoring report also looks at transport in Cardiff.
Cycling and the use of public transport have increased, with bus usage going from 68% to 80% from 2021/22 and rail patronage returning to about 80% of pre-pandemic levels.
Journeys overall made by walking have remained largely unchanged from 2021/22, but walking to school has increased by 1.4% since 2021/22.
Traffic volumes have increased by 46% from 2020/21, but traffic remains down at 95% (less than 5%) relative to pre-pandemic levels.
The data in the monitoring report will be discussed by Cardiff Council’s cabinet members at a meeting on Thursday, October 19.
If cabinet members endorse the report, it will be submitted to the Welsh Government by October 31.
