Strategic housing land availability assessment (SHLAA)

What is a SHLAA?

  • A technical piece of work to assess the amount and nature of land available for housing development.  It informs the plan making process of deciding housing land supply.
  • A SHLAA is a government requirement.  Yorkshire authorities are expected to complete their SHLAAs by the end of 2008.

How will a SHLAA be used?

  • As evidence to inform spatial plans such as Leeds’s Core Strategy.
  • To illustrate the sufficiency of land to meet housing needs.
  • As evidence for deciding planning applications and dealing with appeals.

Key aspects

  • A SHLAA has to be prepared with involvement of external interests, including house builders in a “Partnership”.  The Leeds Partnership has been established with the first meeting in September 2008.
  • A SHLAA has to invite landowners & developers to suggest possible sites.
  • Government advice is clear that authorities should not rule out areas of countryside & green belt from the potential area of search.

Who is preparing the Leeds SHLAA?

  • The Planning and Economic Policy service of Leeds City Council will lead the project including setting up the Partnership, creating a database of sites, launching the 'call for sites”, appraising sites and reporting to the Partnership.

What about making site suggestions?

  • A 'Call for Sites' commenced during the week beginning 22 September and closed on 24 October 2008.

What will happen to sites included in the SHLAA?

  • Sites will be assessed for their suitability, availability and achievability, and for dwelling capacity.
  • Conclusions will be considered by the Partnership and a report will be available on this page when this exercise has been completed.
  • Inclusion of sites in the SHLAA gives no endorsement that housing development is acceptable.
  • Sites which accord with planning policy pertaining at the time can be developed.
  • Development on sites which do not accord with planning policy pertaining at the time will be resisted.

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