Testun llawn:
Element 1 of the RLDP Sustainable Growth Strategy commits to “Delivering a sustainable level of housing and employment growth to accord with the Vale’s position within the Cardiff Capital Region.” The supporting text sets out that the RLDP will make provision for 7,890 dwellings over the RLDP period (526dpa), plus a flexibility allowance.
Supporting paragraph 5.8 states that: “The level of growth proposed is based on average completions over the first ten years of the adopted plan period (526 dwellings per annum). This reflects an appropriate timeframe, encompassing a period of low housing completions following the economic recession and the more recent boom years following the adoption of the LDP and delivery of allocated sites. This level of growth has been demonstrated to be deliverable and is sufficiently ambitious to reflect the Vale’s position in the Future Wales national growth area. It also addresses the acute need for affordable housing, whilst being achievable within the limitations of the natural and built environment.”
It is considered that basing the future level of growth on the average completions over the last decade is far from ambitious enough to the level of housing that is actually required in VoG in the RLDP period. The last 10 years includes periods of unprecedentedly low housing delivery, for example during the Covid pandemic where, according to the Consultation Evidence Base (Housing Land Supply and Housing Trajectory December 2025), only 431 and 354 additional dwellings were delivered in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. Basing housing growth on past trends in average completions takes no account of emerging demographic trends or any backlog of unmet need and does not comply with the approach set out in the Development Plans Manual. It is observed that delivery in the remaining six out of the last 10 years exceeded 526 dwellings per annum. This demonstrates that delivery within the VoG has operated above the proposed housing requirement for the RLDP period in recent times (with the exception of covid years) which provides a high level of confidence that a higher housing target could realistically be achieved.
The level of housing growth for the RLDP is therefore unambitious, particularly given that the Vale of Glamorgan sits within a National Growth Area (‘NGA’) in Policy 1 (Where Wales will grow) of Future Wales. Policy 33 (NGA – Cardiff, Newport and the Valleys) states that: “Local Development Plans should recognise the National Growth Area as the focus for strategic economic and housing growth; essential services and facilities; advanced manufacturing; transport and digital infrastructure.” As such, pursuing an approach to future delivery which seeks to maintain historic delivery rates is not reflective of Vale of Glamorgan’s role within a NGA and lacks the level of ambition for the area set out in national planning policy. The previous LDP was adopted at a period of time before Future Wales was published. Therefore pursuing an approach that seeks to maintain historic delivery rates is not considered to reflect the enhanced role that the Vale of Glamorgan has as a result of its designation as part of a national growth area within Future Wales. It is illogical that the annual requirement has gone down from the figure in the adopted LDP when the local area has been categorised as part of a national growth area in Future Wales.
