Developers East Sussex minutes: 9 July 2024
Meeting details
Date: 9 July 2024
Time: 2pm
Location: Microsoft Teams
See the list of attendees and apologies for this meeting.
1. Welcome and introductions
1.1 JB welcomed the attendees to the meeting and extended a particular welcome to new DES members and to AC and KC who join the meeting as guests for agenda item 4.
2. Review of previous minutes, 14 May 2024
2.1 There were no actions from the previous meeting. The minutes were approved as an accurate record of the meeting.
3. Market conditions / open forum
3.1 The group discussed the current state of the market and the ongoing issues around the supply of materials, labour shortages, price increases etc. All agreed that the overall situation remains largely unchanged.
3.2 While the private sales market has been performing modestly, sales dropped in the pre-election period, with cancellations increasing slightly. This is likely to continue as we move into the summer period, which is a normal seasonal trend, coupled with the expectation of rate changes on the horizon.
3.3 Build costs also remain unchanged, with no benefits as yet or realignment of prices from the slowdown of the market. Costs associated with groundworks remain the highest. No current issues reported on the supply chain side.
3.4 Commercial activity remains fairly consistent, with signs of the market slowing slightly but staying buoyant. The smaller end of the market is performing well but larger buildings (office/industrial) are struggling – lots of interest but few completions.
3.5 Issues with the affordable housing market persist. BH noted that the roundtable discussion events are still being held, and assured the group that he and other DES colleagues continue to press the case with government.
4. Biodiversity Net Gain
4.1 AC and KC introduced the topic of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), an approach to development that seeks to ensure wildlife habitats are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development began. BNG became mandatory in England in February 2024, and developers are now required to deliver a BNG of 10%.
4.2 DES colleagues were asked to discuss if and how BNG has affected them since becoming mandatory. The following comments were raised:
- It’s still early days so the majority of developers will not yet have been all the way through the mandatory process. This is compounded by the current state of the land market, with fewer sites coming through the system.
- Some developers have recently been provided with differing metrics and standards; hopefully just teething issues that will be smoothed out.
- Currently there may be competing priorities between European Protected Species (EPS) licencing and BNG requirements.
- Those authorities that had produced and worked through BNG planning guidance before it became mandatory gave some assurance that the process is not overly demanding – over time we’ll all get used to it, the market will rebalance and there will still be profits to be made. Colleagues are encouraged to embrace it, and work with local authority partners to simplify it and make it work.
- Some developers are already using BNG standards as a positive marketing tool.
- The long-term stewardship of BNG standards is a challenge, as once a site is completed it is handed over to residents, management companies etc. There needs to be a mechanism for ensuring residents understand their ongoing responsibilities.
- BNG may work well on larger sites but could be challenging on smaller sites, leading to developers seeking to deliver BNG benefits ‘off-site’. It’s about understanding the individual sites and their ecological baseline.
- In regard to off-site, fundamentally there are three ways a developer can achieve BNG: (1) by creating biodiversity on-site within the red line boundary of the development site; (2) if all of their BNG cannot be achieved on-site, they can deliver through a mixture of on-site and off-site, either by making off-site biodiversity gains on their own land outside the development site or by buying off-site biodiversity units on the market; and (3) if developers cannot achieve on-site or off-site BNG, then as a last resort, they must buy statutory biodiversity ‘credits’ from the government. Developers can combine all three options, but must follow the steps in order.
- If a developer generates an excess of credits on a site over and above the required threshold, they can either retain them as a good news story, or sell them onto other sites. However, that must be agreed in advance, and the developer may also be asked to factor in a buffer before selling on.
- Other areas are setting up BNG ‘banks’, so perhaps that is something to be considered here, in consultation with Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Environment Bank.
4.3 JB agreed to keep this topic on the forward plan and return to it again at a future DES meeting.
5. East Sussex Housing Strategy
5.1 MCo provided a progress update on the development of the new Housing Strategy for East Sussex, delivering a presentation on the aims and challenges, key milestones, headlines from the evidence base, and emerging themes and priorities. He also provided feedback from the strategy development workshop that took place last week, which DES colleagues attended.
5.2 Further feedback is welcome, and MCo encouraged colleagues to continue submitting data and insights for the evidence base – email Michael Courts directly.
5.3 The next steps will see a working draft strategy shared with DES and other partners in early autumn. A final draft strategy is expected to be adopted by the East Sussex Housing Partnership in December, with an implementation plan adopted by March 2025.
6. DES priorities for 2024/25
6.1 An annual question, JB asked the group to consider whether there are any topics, themes or guest presenters we ought to bring to DES meetings over the year ahead.
6.2 The most prominent suggestion was to begin a regular conversation on the implications of a new government, as there are likely to be a series of announcements on national policy changes in the coming weeks and months as they press ahead at pace. So much is currently unknown, so it’s vital that DES colleagues understand the direction of travel and consider the implications of any proposed changes, including the benefits, unintended consequences, potential barriers and any local approaches to national housing policy.
6.3 Other immediate responses from the group included discussing utilities (particularly Southern Water); working towards a ‘best practice’ in terms of delivering affordable housing; and inviting those MHCLG officials responsible for making new planning-related announcements to actually present at a DES meeting.
6.4 JB encouraged DES colleagues to send in any other suggestions via email over the coming weeks.
7. Local Planning Authority (LPA) updates
7.1 Officers provided updates on the progression of their Borough and District Councils’ Local Plans:
- Rother DC currently has its Draft (Regulation 18) Local Plan out to consultation, with more than 7,000 representations received so far. The Reg 18 consultation runs until 23 July 2024. Officers still expect to progress from ‘Draft’ to ‘Proposed Submission’ (Regulation 19) during 2025.
- Wealden DC completed its Reg 18 consultation in May 2024, with around 12,300 comments now being processed. An update report will be produced in the coming weeks, with progression to Reg 19 also expected next year.
- Lewes DC completed its Reg 18 consultation in February 2024, with around 43,000 comments received. A virtual ‘Local Plan Viability Assessment’ stakeholder workshop is being held on 30 July 2024; anyone interested in attending can register by emailing localplan@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk by 28 July. The Lewes Local Plan is now heading towards Reg 19 after Christmas this year, with anticipated publication by June next year.
- Eastbourne BC has no current update on its Local Plan as colleagues are still in discussions on how best to proceed (e.g. perhaps a separate Eastbourne seafront strategy).
- Hastings BC also has no current update, so is still expecting to begin its Reg 19 Local Plan consultation during Q2 of 2024/25.
7.2 KE advised that Rother DC is currently without a Director of Place so some restructuring is taking place with a couple of vacancies to be filled.
7.3 MD advised that the planning service across Lewes DC and Eastbourne BC is being led by Nadeem Din and Neil Collins respectively, both reporting directly to the Chief Executive.
8. MHCLG / Homes England engagement
8.1 JB advised that following last week’s general election, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has been renamed the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), for which Angela Rayner MP has been appointed Secretary of State (as well as being appointed Deputy Prime Minister).
8.2 JB confirmed that monthly calls with MHCLG officials will continue, so the issues being discussed at DES will continue to be fed directly to government. As always, DES colleagues are encouraged to get in contact with any particular points to raise.
9. AOB (any other business)
9.1 JB advised that this year’s DES Dinner with the Leader for full members will take place on the evening of 10 September 2024 at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne. Invitations will be issued in the coming days.
9.2 The next DES meeting, also scheduled for 10 September, will be held in person. The timing is likely to be pushed back to slightly later in the afternoon. A calendar appointment with full details will be circulated once the arrangements are confirmed.
Summary of actions
None.
Attendees and apologies
Attendees
- AC, Amy Croombs, Natural England
- BB, Beverley Bayliss, East Sussex CC
- BH, Brian Horton, Horton Strategic
- CBl, Colin Black, Mayer Brown
- CBr, Chris Broome, Sea Change Sussex
- CBu, Craige Burden, Barratt David Wilson Homes
- CM, Chris Moore, Bellway Homes
- DE, Dave Evans, East Sussex CC
- DG, Derek Godfrey, Westcotte Leach Ltd
- DM, David Martin, Stiles Harold Williams Partnership
- ED, Emma Davies, Redloft
- ERS, Elizabeth Ross-Smith, Greymoor
- GF, Gemma Forshaw, Wealden DC
- HF, Hayley Frankham, Wealden DC
- JB, Jonathan Buckwell, DHA Planning (CHAIR)
- JC, Janan Clatworthy, Chartway
- JL, John Longhorn, Vistry Homes
- JR, Jason Roberts, Wealden DC
- KC, Kate Cole, East Sussex CC
- KE, Kemi Erifevieme, Rother DC
- LE, Lloyd Exley, Rother DC
- LH, Laura Hannan, Spider Projects
- MB, Mark Bewsey, DHA Planning
- MCl, Marie Coleman, Hyde Group
- MCo, Michael Courts, East Sussex CC
- MD, Marc Dorfman, Eastbourne BC / Lewes DC
- ND, Nadeem Din, Eastbourne BC / Lewes DC
- NF, Nick Fenton, Nick Fenton Associates
- PT, Paul Thomas, Development Land Services Ltd
- RB, Rick Bhatia, Southern Housing
- RJ, Richard Jones, East Sussex CC
- RT, Ryan Trodden, MHCLG
- SC, Sarah Cross, Stantec
- SR, Stacey Robins, Wealden DC
- TL, Tristan Lee, Tarn Homes
- TS, Tanya Szendeffy, Eastbourne BC / Lewes DC
- YM, Yvonne Mills, Rentplus
Apologies
- CBk, Chris Brocklebank, Taylor Wimpey
- CBn, Claire Burnett, Homes England
- CH, Chris Hancock, Hastings BC
- EP, Erica Peck, Rydon Homes
- JP, Joe Powell, Rother DC
- RW, Richard White, Southern Housing
- VC, Victoria Conheady, Hastings BC