Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2010 - Falkirk Council

10. CONCLUSION
10.1 This SHIP sets out an ambitious housing partnership development programme to
be pursued over the coming five years. It recognises that with a programme of
this scale and complexity, there will be a range of development constraints which
will, in some cases, impact on project deliverability. On this basis, it has been
necessary to plan a programme beyond current resource availability to allow for a
degree of slippage on projects and to ensure that available resources are fully
utilised year to year.
10.2 The SHIP has been prepared against a backdrop of likely significant budget cuts
over the next 4 years - the working assumption on which the SHIP is based is that
there is likely to be a 25% cut in funding over the first four years of the SHIP
depending on the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review. Given the
anticipated reduction in available funding, this SHIP has involved the detailed
scrutiny of every potential project to ensure it is deliverable, in the right location
and meets strategic needs.
10.3 The availability of funding from the Scottish Government will largely determine the
number of units that can be achieved and the programme is flexible enough to
allow projects to be brought forward should additional resources become available
at any point.
10.4 It is considered that this programme provides a strong basis for ongoing liaison
with the Housing & Regeneration Directorate in terms of resource allocation and
investment programming. The SHIP also provides a framework for discussions
with RSL partners on future Local Housing Strategy priorities and with private
developers in respect of affordable housing provision.
10.5 As noted above, cognisance has been given to the development constraints that
might hinder project delivery. At a strategic level, the issue of future land supply
for affordable housing will continue to be a significant issue. At the present time,
most of the housing development sites identified through the Housing Land Audit
over the period of this SHIP already have planning consent: this means that the
Council’s Affordable Housing Policy does not apply to them. With virtually all of
this land being in private ownership, there is a need to continue to explore
appropriate partnership arrangements with land owners, developers and RSLs to
help identify affordable housing opportunities in the longer term.
10.6 At a project level, a variety of development constraints (associated with
infrastructure such as drainage, flood risks and consultation zones, along with a
range of planning requirements) mean that a proactive approach to liaison with
other statutory agencies at the earliest possible stage will be required. A predevelopment
checklist is now in use covering the range of Council services
involved in the implementation of housing partnership schemes to help anticipate
and respond to potential constraints and restrictions which might impact on project
delivery; pre-application discussions take place between the Council and
RSLs/developers to identify and tackle any constraints at the earliest opportunity.
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