Swansea LDP Examination

Statement of Swansea Council

arising from Hearing Session 4

Affordable Housing -
Local Needs Housing and
Rural Exception Sites

Published: 5 March 2018

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Contents

Contents ..................................................................................................................... 2
1.0 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Revisions to Policy H5 ...................................................................................... 3
3.0 Renamed Policy H5 and Updates to Supporting Text ....................................... 4
4.0 Underlying Evidence ......................................................................................... 5
5.0 Amendments to Proposals Map ........................................................................ 6
6.0 New Policy on 100% Affordable Housing Sites................................................. 6
Appendix 1: LDP Policy Amendments ........................................................................ 8
Appendix 2: Proposed New LDP Appendix 7 – Eligibility Criteria and Restrictions for
Local Needs Housing ............................................................................................... 14
Appendix 3: Supplementary Evidence of Local Need ............................................... 17
Appendix 5: Amendments to LDP Proposals Map illustrating Allocated Sites in
Policy H5 21

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 Statement of Swansea Council arising from
LDP Examination Hearing Session 4:
Affordable Housing -
Local Needs Housing and
Rural Exception Sites

1.0 Introduction

1.1 This Statement has been produced by Swansea Council (hereafter ‘the
Council’) in order to respond substantively to the following Action Points arising
from Hearing Sessions 3 and 4 of the Swansea Local Development Plan (LDP)
Examination:

Ref Action Point

AP3.4 The LPA to consider the position in relation to Rural
Exception Sites. Specifically to:
(i) Consider renaming the policy (e.g. Local Needs Housing
Allocations), with a separate criteria-based policy for
Exception Sites,
(ii) Consider including the proposed allocations within the
settlement boundaries,
(iii) Provide evidence identifying the local need for the plan
period and clarifying whether the sites would meet that
need.
AP4.10 Supplementary to AP3.4 relating to Local Needs Housing
agreed at Hearing Session 3, the LPA to produce evidence to
inform consideration of the local social or economic need,
including affordability, of the relevant ‘Local Needs’ units as
defined in policy H 5.

1.2 This statement should be read in conjunction with other Council statements
submitted to the Examination, namely:

 Hearing Session 2 ‘Delivery and Infrastructure’ [Doc Ref HS2-Swansea]

 Hearing Session 3 ‘Housing Provision’ [Doc Ref HS3-Swansea]
 Hearing Session 4 ‘Affordable Housing’ [Doc Ref HS4-Swansea]

2.0 Revisions to Policy H5

2.1 Discussions at Examination Hearing Session 4 highlighted various matters

relating to Policy H5, including the manner in which it aligns with national policy
and the underpinning evidence to the policy objectives. The Council has
reflected on these discussions and given full consideration to the points raised
in AP3.4 and AP4.10, as well as the hearing statement submitted by the Welsh
Government in relation to Affordable Housing policy. The Council considers that
a number of refinements to Policy H5 are necessary in order to clarify the
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 purpose of the policy and its underlying evidence, and align the terminology
used in the policy and the nature of the allocations themselves with national
planning guidance. Fundamentally the Council would highlight that the
development requirements of the Policy, and all the sites that are identified
within it, remains consistent with that expressed in the Deposit LDP.

2.2 The proposed amendments to Policy H5 are set out in Appendix 1 of this
statement. The nature of the amendments can be summarised as:

 Renaming the Policy to ‘Local Needs Housing Exception Sites’ and

updating the supporting text to align with national guidance,
 Clarifying the Evidence that underpins the policy
 Amending the settlement boundaries to show the allocated sites as being
within the boundaries, and
 Removing from within the policy the element relating to ‘100% affordable
Housing Sites’ and re-providing this within a new policy in a revised form.

2.3 Further details of the above changes are set out in the sections below.

3.0 Renamed Policy H5 and Updates to Supporting Text

3.1 The proposed amendments to Policy H5 and supporting text are presented at
Appendix 1 and are summarised below:

 Renaming the Policy to ‘Local Needs Housing Exception Sites’ and

ensuring alignment with national guidance: The amendments to the
policy and supporting text are such that the Plan aligns with PPW, which
provides the national policy framework for plan policies to meet specific
local housing needs for both market and affordable housing. This includes
amendments to the supporting text that provides justification for the policy,
in accordance with PPW, and clarification that the local needs housing
should relate to the available evidence of need which underpins the
Policy. The renamed policy continues to use the term “exception” which
the Council still considers important to emphasise the exceptional nature
of these allocations, and that they are distinct from normal market
allocations.

 Clarification of references to occupancy criteria: The amendments to

the policy clarify that the local needs housing provided under this policy
will be subject to specific local needs occupancy criteria, which are distinct
from the Council’s own local occupancy eligibility criteria (set out at
Appendix 6 of the Plan) to be applied to Affordable Housing for Local
Needs. Amendments to the supporting text include an appropriate cross
reference to the proposed new Appendix 7, which will set out the specific
local needs occupancy criteria for the market element. The proposed new
Appendix is presented at Appendix 2.

 Clarification of the mechanisms of implementation: The amendments

to the policy and supporting text clarify that the Council will tie the
provision of housing under the policy to the planning consent by means of
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 either a legal agreement or a planning condition, as appropriate in each
case, in order to secure the delivery of the agreed percentage of
affordable housing, and to ensure local occupancy restrictions to be
applied are appropriate to meet the objectives of the policy.

 Amendments to the policy and supporting text to reflect that the

allocations are to be shown as being within the settlement boundary:
The necessary revisions to the Proposals Map are set out in Appendix 5 of
this Statement.

 Removal of element relating to 100% affordable housing sites. This

element of the policy is re-provided within a new policy in a revised form
and is presented at Section 6.0 of this statement.

4.0 Underlying Evidence

4.1 The Council recognises that the evidence that supports and justifies Policy H5
needs to be clearly expressed in respect of:

 identifying the local need for the plan period (for both affordable housing
for local needs and market housing for local need)
 clarifying how each site will meet the need
 evidencing how each site meets the local, social or economic need
 evidencing affordability

4.2 In order to further supplement the evidence set out in the Local Housing Market
Assessment (LHMA)1, and the demographic profiling data of the relevant wards
(as set out in the Appendix to the Council’s statement for Hearing Session 4),
the Council has commissioned Opinion Research Services (ORS) to provide
further evidence to respond the points raised in AP3.4 and AP4.10. The
resulting supplementary evidence paper is attached at Appendix 3.

4.3 The supplementary evidence from ORS provides confirmation and clear
evidence that Policy H5 (as proposed for amendment) will meet the both the
identified need for affordable housing for local needs, and the need for local
needs housing allocations within the Gower, Gower Fringe and West SHPZs.

4.4 The supplementary evidence also provides evidence of levels of affordability at

a ward level. It should be noted that the minority local needs ‘market’ housing
permitted by the Policy (as amended) is not solely focused on addressing
issues of affordability. Issues of affordability are clearly addressed through the
minimum 51% of the scheme which is to provide affordable housing for local
needs. The manner in which the local needs ‘market’ element of the allocations
will meet need local is: firstly, by ensuring that the nature of the homes to be
delivered will provide opportunities for those households who require
assistance in accessing the market; and secondly, by applying local occupancy
criteria to initial and subsequent purchasers of the dwellings. Local occupancy

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EB003 Local Housing Market Assessment 2013 EB004 Local Housing Market Assessment (Update) 2015
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 restrictions are likely to have some impact of the overall house prices achieved
on the minority element, however it is not appropriate for the policy to seek to
place a specific restriction on sale prices in this regard. It must be recognised
that the enabling element of the policy must ultimately be capable of providing a
financial viable development that will secure the delivery of the affordable
homes.

4.5 Further additional evidence is provided by the recently adopted Gower AONB
Management Plan2 2017, which identifies the lack of affordable housing on
Gower as an issue for local people and affects their ability to continue to reside
within the area. The Management Plan was informed by comprehensive
discussions by the Gower AONB Partnership held throughout 2015 on the issue
of affordable housing, and by subsequent stakeholder and public consultation
on the draft Management Plan. The resulting Management Plan highlights
particular issues with maintaining communities with a balanced age group, and
also issues with a large proportion of homes being used a second homes.
Theme 14 of the Management Plan Strategy (pg 84) therefore specifically
relates to to affordable housing and is supported by Management Plan Policy
HC1 “Promote the provision of affordable housing for local people”, and
Objective 38 “ensure that LDP policy addresses the affordable housing needs
of local communities”.

4.6 Amendments to Policy H5 are set out in Appendix 1, which show that the
refined policy and supporting text accurately reflects the evidence base.

5.0 Amendments to Proposals Map

5.1 The amendments to the policy include amending the settlement boundaries to
show the allocated sites as being within the boundaries. Maps illustrating the
proposed boundary amendments for each allocated site are set out at Appendix
5, together with maps illustrating the original deposit settlement boundaries.

6.0 New Policy on 100% Affordable Housing Sites

6.1 The element of the policy relating to development proposals for “100%
affordable housing” is proposed to be removed from Policy H5 and re-provided
in a new separate policy which is presented at Appendix 1. The new policy is
presented in a revised form to ensure that both the policy and terminology used
within it are fully aligned with National Planning Policy. In particular:

 Amended policy title to clearly reflect the terminology of PPW

 Amendment to clarify the acceptable location of land for consideration as
affordable housing exception sites, to ensure that it aligns with guidance in
PPW para 2.9.23 which supports the release of small housing sites “within
or adjoining existing settlements”.
 Amendments to provide a criteria based policy for the consideration of
100% affordable housing exception sites to ensure that the affordable

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https://www.swansea.gov.uk/gowermanagement
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 housing provided under this policy is both sustainable and meets the
identified need.
 Amendment to clearly distinguish between the requirements of sites
allocated under Policy H5, and non-allocated sites which will be
considered under the new policy in accordance with National Planning
Policy guidance.
 Amendments to clearly refer to the fact that housing provided under this
policy will be for Affordable Housing for Local Needs and will be subject to
the Council’s own eligibility criteria which are set out in Appendix 6 of the
Plan, and are distinct from those which will be applied under Policy H5
relating to local needs occupancy criteria and set out in a separate new
Appendix.

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Appendix 1: LDP Policy Amendments

A. Proposed amendments to Policy H5

H 5: RURAL LOCAL NEEDS HOUSING EXCEPTION SITES

Rural exceptions s Sites are allocated outside the defined settlement
boundary at the following locations for residential development, local
needs housing to meet an identified social and/or economic need within
the defined locality. which must provide a minimum of 51% Affordable
Housing for Local Needs:
H 5. 1 Land at Monksland Road, Scurlage
H 5. 2 Land to the east of Gowerton Road, Three
Crosses
H 5. 3 Land adjoining Tirmynydd Road, Three
Crosses
H 5. 4 Land adjoining Pennard Drive, Pennard
H 5. 5 Land at Summerland Lane, Newton
H 5. 6 Land at Higher Lane, Langland
Proposals must provide a minimum of 51% Affordable Housing for
Local Needs and can incorporate may be supported by an enabling
element of market housing that meets specific local housing needs. ,
which will. The enabling element will only be permitted where it forms
the minority proportion element (maximum 49%) of the dwellings
proposed and where the development can be demonstrated to meet a
local social or economic need, to which the Council’s local needs
occupancy criteria will be applied.
All development will be required to demonstrate that include an
appropriate mix of dwelling sizes, tenure types and design
specifications are proposed to meet identified social and/or economic
needs, having regard to the most up to date viability and local needs
evidence, which will be formally tied to planning consent by means of
legal agreements and/or conditions.

2.5.27 The Policy sets out criteria to ensure that where land is identified for
Affordable Housing for Local Needs outside of settlement boundaries, it is
of an appropriate nature and its location is in accordance with the Plan’s
strategy of creating sustainable communities.

2.5.28 National Planning Policy and Guidance allows for the identification of
local needs housing exception sites, which are distinct from
standard market housing allocations to allow for the provision of
both affordable and market housing for local needs. In this context,
Policy H5 allocates six sites to deliver both local needs housing and
affordable housing for local needs, specifically in order to meet the
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 identified need in the Gower, Gower Fringe and West Strategic
Housing Policy Zones. rural exception sites to deliver Affordable
Housing for Local Needs. These are sites, where as an exception to the
restrictions on development in the countryside, may be permitted. The
Policy therefore allocates land which has been identified as being suitable
for Affordable Housing for Local Needs. However, the sites identified are,
for the most part, large in relation to the rural settlements/settings in which
they are located. It is not therefore considered to be in accordance with
the objective of creating sustainable communities to allocate the entire site
for affordable housing. In addition, the number of rural exception sites
delivered over previous Plan periods has been low as the reduction in
Social Housing Grant has reduced the viability of delivering affordable
housing without an enabling element of market development.

2.5.29 The Policy therefore seeks to provide a pragmatic approach which

addresses these issues whilst still ensuring that the opportunities to
deliver affordable housing are maximised in accordance with the
affordable housing strategy set out in Policy H 2.

2.5.29 The sites identified in the Policy are, for the most part, large in
relation to the rural settlements/settings in which they are located. It
would not be in accordance with the objective of creating cohesive,
sustainable communities to allocate the entire site for affordable
housing. The Policy therefore provides a pragmatic and balanced
approach, which addresses the identified local needs and ensures
that the opportunities to deliver affordable housing are maximised in
accordance with the affordable housing strategy set out in Policy H
2.

2.5.30 The Policy permits an element of enabling market development on land

identified as a rural exceptions site, In order to ensure that the identified
local housing need is met, the Policy requires by requiring that the
majority of the site (i.e. at least 51%) must provide affordable housing, as
defined within National Planning Policy and Guidance, and must be
occupied by people who meet the Council’s affordable housing local need
criteria, as set out at Appendix 6.

2.5.31 The remainder of the site however may provide local need housing
offer alternative housing products to meet local social and economic
housing needs. This includes in particular, housing which addresses the
needs of older persons in the area to help facilitate downsizing. The mix of
tenure to be delivered on these sites must be negotiated with the Council’s
Housing Enabling Officer. There is little evidence of need for social rented
properties within the Gower and Gower Fringe SHPZ. Where such tenures
are provided it would be highly likely that the occupants would only be
found through cascading the search process to tenants from outside the
Gower and Gower Fringe Zones. This would not meet the specific local
needs identified in the LHMA. This element of the policy seeks to
address identified issues and deficiencies in the local housing
market that affect the ability of specific local groups to meet their
accommodation needs within the local area. These groups include
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 first time buyers, local persons creating new households, carers,
older people, and those requiring care.

2.2.32 It is important to note that the specific allocations have not been
identified in order to meet a market need. The principle of market housing
development has not been accepted on these sites. For this reason all
such sites allocated under this Policy will remain outside of the respective
settlement boundaries in order that they can only be brought forward as
exception sites.

2.5.33 In accordance with Policy IO 1, legal agreements will be used to ensure

that the agreed percentage of affordable and market housing is delivered
and that the type and mix meets the objectives of the Policy.

2.5.34 Outside of settlement boundaries, within the area defined as

countryside, proposals will be determined against Policy CV 2
Development in the Countryside, which restricts development as set out in
TAN 664.

2.5.32 For the purpose of this policy, the defined locality is informed by
the evidence of social and economic need in a specific set of
electoral wards, which includes the Council's administrative wards
of: Bishopston, Fairwood, Gower, Mayals, Newton, Oystermouth,
Pennard, Penclawdd and West Cross. The geographical area of the
defined locality is illustrated in Appendix 7, which also sets out the
defined eligibility criteria for assessing whether a prospective
occupier would satisfy the test of local need. All wards within the
defined locality fall within the Gower, Gower Fringe and West SHPZs.
Within these wards evidence shows that the local housing market
experiences a range particular pressures that limit the options
available for local households to access private housing and can
lead to households moving outside of the defined locality. These
pressures include: high levels of second home ownership; a
dominance of larger properties in the existing housing stock; a lack
of smaller one or two bedroom properties; high levels of migrant
households from outside of the county that increases levels of
competition of existing stock. This is further compounded by the
evidence of the demographic profile of these wards within the
locality, which shows that there are significant levels of older
persons in larger properties, and lower levels of younger people and
young families in these areas.

2.5.33 All local needs housing provided on the allocated sites is

therefore required to provide an appropriate mix of dwelling sizes
and design specifications to meet the social and economic needs
identified within the defined locality. This requirement will ensure
that the allocated sites contribute to the diversification of existing
housing stock, for example by improving access to smaller dwellings
and/or by providing dwellings that meet Lifetime Homes standards.

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2.5.34 In order to ensure that local needs housing provided on the
allocated sites meet the objectives of the Policy, the occupation of
dwellings provided will be controlled through the use of local
occupancy restrictions. Such restrictions will require that initial and
subsequent occupants of the properties fall within the definition of
“persons with a local connection”. An exception to this requirement
may be permitted if a property has been advertised for sale, for at
least 16 weeks, and no person with a local connection can be
identified as a prospective purchaser. Restrictions will also be
imposed to ensure that the dwellings provided are only occupied as
“only or principal homes” Appendix 7 provides further details of the
definitions and mechanisms necessary to enforce the
implementation of the policy.

2.5.33 2.5.35 In accordance with Policy IO 1, legal agreements and/or

planning conditions will be used to ensure that the agreed percentage of
affordable housing for local needs and local needs market housing is
delivered, that the type and mix of dwellings provided meets the objectives
of the Policy, and that local needs housing occupancy restrictions are
applied.

2.2.36 The mix of house sizes and tenure types to be delivered on the
sites allocated in Policy H5 must be negotiated with both the
Council’s Planning and Housing departments, having regard to the
most up to date needs evidence at the time of the application. If a
majority of affordable housing cannot be delivered for financial
viability reasons, there will be no relaxation of the minimum
provision target as viability of proposals will change over the Plan
period.

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B. Proposed New Policy based on extracted text from former Policy H5

NEW POLICY: 100% AFFORDABLE HOUSING EXCEPTION SITES

Residential proposals on all other (non-allocated) sites beyond defined
settlement boundaries sites within or adjoining existing settlements will
only be permitted where 100% of the proposed dwellings are for
Affordable Housing for Local Needs and where:
i. The site represents a logical extension to the existing settlement
boundaries and is of a scale appropriate to and in keeping with the
character of the settlement;
ii. The site is in a sustainable location having reasonable access to at
least a basic range of services;
iii. It is of a size, scale and design compatible with affordable dwelling
standards and available to low or moderate income groups;
iv. There are binding agreements in place to ensure that the initial
affordability benefits will be retained in perpetuity for all successive
occupiers who meet the Council’s occupancy criteria;
v. It is demonstrated that there are no satisfactory alternative
arrangements to meet the need within the locality; and
vi. There is no loss of land of important recreational, amenity or natural
heritage value.
Market housing will not be permitted on 100% affordable housing
exception sites. The proposed affordable housing should meet the needs
of local people in perpetuity, which will be tied to the planning consent by
means of a legal agreement.

2.5.37 National Planning Policy and Guidance allows for the identification of
affordable housing exception sites to deliver Affordable Housing for Local
Needs. These are sites where, as an exception to the restrictions set out in
national policy on development in the countryside, residential development
for affordable housing for local needs may be permitted.

2.5.38 All residential proposals on non-allocated sites must be located within or

adjoining existing settlements, and must provide affordable housing for local
needs in perpetuity in accordance with the Council’s own occupancy criteria
(as set out at Appendix 6). In accordance with Policy IO 1, legal agreements
and/or conditions will be used to ensure that the agreed percentage of
affordable housing for local needs and local needs housing is delivered and
that the type and mix and local occupancy restrictions meets the objectives
of the Policy. Applicants should consult with the Council’s Planning and
Housing Teams who will provide guidance on the required mix of types and
tenures having regard to the most up to date evidence of local need.

2.5.39 The Policy sets out criteria to ensure that where affordable housing
exception sites are identified that they are of an appropriate nature and in a

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 location which is in accordance with the Plan’s strategy of creating
sustainable communities.

2.5.34 2.5.40 Outside of settlement boundaries, within the area defined as

countryside, proposals will be determined against Policy CV 2 Development
in the Countryside, which restricts development as set out in TAN 6 64.

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Appendix 2: Proposed New LDP Appendix 7 – Eligibility Criteria and
Restrictions for Local Needs Housing

Legal agreements and/or planning conditions will be used in connection with

proposals for sites listed in Policy H5 ‘Local Needs Housing Exception Sites’, in order
to ensure that:
- the agreed percentage of affordable housing for local needs and local needs market
housing is delivered,
- the type and mix of dwellings provided meets the objectives of the Policy, and
- the occupancy of the dwellings is appropriately restricted.

Such agreements/conditions will seek to enforce that:

1. The dwelling-houses identified as "local needs housing" shall not be occupied

otherwise than by a person with a local connection, or the widow or widower of
such a person and any dependents of such a person living with him or her, unless
the property has been marketed for sale for a period of at least 16 weeks at market
value price and at the end of the 16 week period a person with a local connection
has not been identified as a purchaser. This will be required to be enforced for every
successor in title (repeat sale) to each individual dwelling.

If after a period of 16 weeks of marketing of a local needs dwelling at an estate

agents in the Locality and advertising on a well-used property agency website, there
are no appropriate offers of purchase from a person with a local connection, the
property may be marketed to, and subsequently purchased by, a person that does
not meet the local need criteria. Any subsequent re-sale of the local needs dwelling
will be subject to the local needs occupancy restriction in order to ensure that the
property will continue to provide a potential opportunity to address any future local
need in the Locality.

2. The obligations shall not be binding or enforceable against any mortgagee or

chargee or any receiver appointed by such a mortgagee or chargee or any person
deriving title through such a mortgagee, chargee or receiver provided always that a
successor in title of such a person will be bound by the obligations.

3. The dwelling-houses identified as "local needs housing" shall only be occupied by

a person as his or her Only or Principal Home. The Occupant will be required to
supply to the Local Planning Authority (within 14 days of the Local Planning
Authority's written request so to do) such information as the Authority may
reasonably require in order to determine whether this is being observed.

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Definitions:
'Person with a Local Connection' means an individual who before taking up
occupation of the dwelling satisfies one of the following conditions:
Either:
(a) The person has been in continuous employment in the Locality defined for at
least the last 9 months and for a minimum of 16 hours per week immediately
prior to occupation; or
(b) The person needs to live in the Locality defined because they need substantial
care from a relative who lives in the Locality defined, or because they need to
provide substantial care to a relative who lives in the Locality defined.
Substantial care means that identified as required by a medical doctor or
relevant statutory support agency; or
(c) The person has been continuously resident in the Locality defined for three
years immediately prior to the occupation of the dwelling and is in need of
another dwelling resulting from changes to their household

‘The Locality' is defined as the Council's administrative wards of, Bishopston,

Fairwood, Gower, Mayals, Newton, Oystermouth, Pennard, Penclawdd and West
Cross as shown on the Map entitled Boundary of Local Needs Housing Locality.

Circumstances where a person is ‘in need of another dwelling resulting from

changes to their household’ include (but is not limited to), getting married,
divorced, having children, requiring more space for a growing family, downsizing to a
more manageable home or adult children forming new households and purchasing a
property for the first time, or where a person is returning to the Locality defined within
12 months of the completion of undertaking full-time post-secondary education or
skills training.

An 'Only or Principal Home' is a dwelling house that is occupied continuously for a

minimum period of six months in every twelve month period. For the avoidance of
doubt the dwelling shall not be occupied as a holiday home, second home or for
short term let accommodation.

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Boundary of Local Needs Housing Locality

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Appendix 3: Supplementary Evidence of Local Need

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Opinion Research Services | Swansea Local Housing Market Assessment: Summary of local needs housing February 2018

Swansea LHMA: local needs housing

Summary of evidence identifying local needs
1. Policy H5 of the Swansea LDP seeks to deliver market and affordable housing to meet local needs in the
following wards:

» Bishopston

» Fairwood

» Gower

» Mayals

» Newton

» Oystermouth

» Penclawdd

» Pennard

» West Cross

2. These wards broadly align with the Gower, Gower Fringe and West SHPZs.

3. Collectively, these wards have considerably higher house prices than the Swansea average (£270,800
compared to £161,800 in 2016-17 based on HM Land Registry data). At the time of the 2011 Census, there
were only 1,081 affordable homes in these wards, a much lower proportion than the Swansea average (7.4%
compared to 19.5%).

4. The LHMA 2013 analysis identified an overall affordable housing need for 1,700 affordable homes to be
provided in the Gower, Gower Fringe and West SHPZs over the period 2011-2025 based on meeting the
identified needs within the local area (Table 2 of the Affordable Housing Topic Paper, August 2013). This
included a substantial need for intermediate affordable housing due to the relatively high costs associated
with market housing in these areas.

5. Given the scale of the identified need, it will clearly be important to maximise the delivery of affordable
housing in these areas.

6. More generally, there will be a considerable number of local people in these areas seeking to form independent
households or move to housing more suitable for their needs. The 2011 Census identified that in 2010-11,
there were 1,548 households who moved within these wards (staying within the same ward) and
1

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Opinion Research Services | Swansea Local Housing Market Assessment: Summary of local needs housing February 2018
a further 487 households who moved from these wards to elsewhere in Swansea. Whilst some of these
households moving to other wards will have chosen to do so, others will have been forced to move either
due to affordability constraints or due to lack of suitable housing options.

7. On the basis of these trends continuing, it is likely that there will be over 23,000 household moves within these
wards over the 15-year LDP Plan period and around 7,300 households will move to other parts of Swansea.

8. Many of these households will move to existing market housing; however, the housing market in these areas
experiences particular pressures which limits the options available for local households.

9. The proportion of dwellings without a usually resident household is particularly high (10.5% of the stock
compared to 5.0% across Swansea). This is as a consequence of significant levels of second home ownership
in some of these wards, especially Gower ward (where 25.7% of dwellings aren’t main homes) and
Oystermouth ward (where the proportion is 15.0%).

10. These are also the wards which tend to attract migrant households from outside Swansea. The 2011 Census
identified that over a third of households moving to these wards (35.4%) are migrating from elsewhere in the
UK or overseas compared to around a quarter (26.3%) of moves across all Swansea. The proportion of
households migrating from elsewhere was particularly high in Oystermouth (48.4%), Mayals (43.5%) and
Newton (41.0%).

11. Local households face significant competition for housing in these wards.
12. Further to these pressures, it is important to recognise that the existing stock in these areas is dominated by
larger properties, with almost half (45.6%) being detached and around a third (32.9%) having four or more
bedrooms. These proportions are almost double the Swansea averages (23.2% detached and 18.2% with 4+
bedrooms). In contrast, there are very few smaller properties with only around a quarter (26.5%) with one or
two bedrooms compared to over a third of properties across Swansea (36.4%).

13. As a consequence, there are limited opportunities for newly forming households in these areas. The lack of
smaller properties coupled with the higher cost of housing in these areas mean that many have to either
move to other parts of Swansea or remain living as concealed households not able to live independently.

14. The mix of existing housing means that there are also limited opportunities for older households seeking to
downsize to more suitable housing. In the absence of suitable housing being available, these households will
often choose to stay in their existing family housing.

15. Whilst local needs market housing will never provide sufficient housing for all local households seeking to
form their own home or move to a more suitable home, the provision of such housing will help ensure that
households are able to stay in their local areas. Furthermore, providing an appropriate mix of housing on
these sites, which diversifies the stock and increases the range of housing options within the ward, will help
ensure that households can find suitable housing within their local area.

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Opinion Research Services | Swansea Local Housing Market Assessment: Summary of local needs housing February 2018

Household
spaces with no % moves from
Average house Affordable usual outside Up to 2
2011 ward price housing residents Swansea Detached 4+ bedrooms bedrooms

SWANSEA £ 161,827 19.5% 5.0% 26.3% 23.2% 18.2% 36.4%

SELECTED WARDS £ 270,783 7.4% 10.5% 35.4% 45.6% 32.9% 26.5%

Bishopston £ 240,066 1.0% 10.4% 30.6% 55.6% 33.9% 23.7%
Fairwood £ 259,926 10.7% 3.5% 25.4% 49.2% 36.9% 15.4%
Gower £ 363,125 6.2% 25.7% 31.3% 66.0% 46.4% 17.1%
Mayals £ 285,352 5.0% 5.1% 43.5% 45.4% 41.4% 25.6%
Newton £ 306,296 2.7% 12.8% 41.0% 46.0% 39.5% 26.9%
Oystermouth £ 287,951 1.8% 15.0% 48.4% 31.4% 30.7% 34.9%
Penclawdd £ 184,456 6.8% 5.5% 14.9% 52.4% 24.5% 23.3%
Pennard £ 297,277 0.6% 7.7% 26.8% 65.7% 36.4% 18.4%
West Cross £ 252,480 19.6% 5.3% 33.3% 25.2% 22.1% 35.7%

Bonymaen £ 121,696 29.1% 3.7% 30.5% 10.9% 9.0% 42.8%

Castle £ 123,837 30.4% 7.8% 34.1% 1.8% 10.0% 69.2%
Clydach £ 150,536 18.4% 4.4% 28.7% 25.7% 12.2% 32.7%
Cockett £ 120,760 21.9% 3.2% 11.9% 18.0% 11.4% 34.2%
Cwmbwrla £ 95,834 12.3% 2.0% 11.3% 4.1% 6.9% 39.1%
Dunvant £ 166,546 7.1% 2.9% 18.5% 29.6% 18.2% 12.7%
Gorseinon £ 108,329 21.5% 5.1% 16.3% 13.3% 11.2% 37.2%
Gowerton £ 168,413 9.5% 3.8% 23.0% 35.9% 27.0% 23.7%
Killay North £ 214,226 1.9% 4.0% 18.8% 48.2% 30.7% 19.9%
Killay South £ 179,215 6.3% 5.1% 20.0% 27.3% 15.3% 22.5%
Kingsbridge £ 162,569 5.4% 2.3% 14.0% 25.3% 18.6% 17.9%
Landore £ 108,074 12.7% 3.4% 14.9% 6.3% 5.5% 52.2%
Llangyfelach £ 150,687 1.6% 2.2% 23.0% 48.6% 31.6% 24.8%
Llansamlet £ 141,940 13.4% 2.9% 26.1% 34.5% 20.8% 27.5%
Lower Loughor £ 140,422 24.8% 1.8% 22.0% 33.7% 24.9% 31.7%
Mawr £ 153,500 11.0% 5.2% 35.9% 52.0% 24.9% 24.5%
Morriston £ 115,382 18.2% 5.4% 24.1% 19.8% 13.4% 38.1%
Mynyddbach £ 127,078 27.9% 2.3% 19.3% 26.5% 9.4% 36.5%
Penderry £ 92,033 56.6% 1.8% 13.9% 8.3% 5.1% 45.0%
Penllergaer £ 177,453 16.2% 2.6% 17.2% 45.2% 29.8% 18.9%
Penyrheol £ 132,661 16.0% 3.1% 21.6% 32.5% 17.7% 21.8%
Pontardulais £ 123,301 15.8% 4.8% 36.0% 29.6% 19.8% 27.1%
Sketty £ 246,084 16.6% 3.2% 29.3% 32.7% 29.1% 33.6%
St. Thomas £ 115,854 18.4% 5.4% 36.3% 3.5% 5.8% 46.5%
Townhill £ 77,474 59.9% 2.5% 18.9% 4.7% 4.0% 54.0%
Uplands £ 176,707 10.8% 6.3% 23.8% 6.4% 34.7% 36.9%
Upper Loughor £ 130,928 5.6% 3.8% 23.1% 29.5% 16.2% 20.3%

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