Chapter 9 - Meeting Housing Needs
Managing housing growth and distribution (continued)
HOU 3.1 The Housing Growth Indicators (HGIs) are:
 HGI
1: Regional Balance:
To help maintain a balance of growth between the BMA and its
hinterland, and the rest of Northern Ireland by a shared allocation
of the regional housing need of 160,000 dwellings as set out
in Figure 17.
The critical balance identified in the Spatial Development
Strategy is based on maintaining a strong economic heart in
the BMA and its hinterland, and encouraging decentralised
growth in the rest of the Region, with a focus on the North
West and the main towns located on the key and link transport
corridors. This housing allocation reflects the growth potential
of the BMA and its immediate sphere of influence, while affirming
the potential for the rest of the Region to enhance its growth
performance, thus contributing to a balanced spread of development
and helping to reduce west to east population flows. It will
facilitate a balanced spread of new housing to support the
main hubs of employment across the Region.
HGI
2: The North, South and West of the Region:
To distribute the allocation of 82,500 additional dwellings
by council districts as set out in Diagram 8.
The indicative allocation of additional housing to the districts
of the North, South and West of the Region reflects the Spatial
Development Strategy, the inherited pattern of population
in these districts, population growth trends and a broad assessment
of the economic role and the range of cultural, leisure, social
and commercial activities available in each district. It acknowledges
that some districts exert an influence and ‘pull’ beyond their
own immediate locality, due in part to the magnetic power
of the main district town. Over the longer term, some districts
are more likely to generate a larger demand for housing consistent
with their higher levels of population growth. The ability
to forge complementary economic development partnerships within
and between districts could, however, generate extra economic
activity in any district, thus increasing the housing demand.
The five-year review will offer the flexibility to make ‘in-course’
adjustments.
HGI
3: District population balance
The Housing Growth Indicators for each district have been
set to facilitate a scale of local housing development that
broadly conforms with the overall Spatial Development Strategy
described in Chapters 5-9. This will help to ensure that the
total of housing land provision in all districts matches the
projected need for the Region as a whole thus enabling better
management of housing land supply to achieve strategic objectives.
The allocation of housing growth to specific locations in
a district is a matter for decision through the development
plan process taking account of views expressed during public
consultation and, specifically, the strategic planning guidance
in Chapters 5-9. An important step in this allocation process
is making judgements to achieve a complementary urban/rural
balance to meet the need for housing in the towns of the district
and to meet the needs of the rural community living in the
smaller settlements and countryside. The RDS gives general
guidance in Chapter 8 on the scale of development appropriate
to small towns and villages, taking account of their role
and development pressures.
In making provision for a range of locations offering housing
choice in a district, due weight needs to be given to reinforcing
the leading role of the major centres of administration, employment
and services. Analysis of population balance can facilitate
an evaluation of the relationship between towns and their
rural hinterland. Appendix 7 indicates that across the Region
the principal town accommodated, on average, 36% of the district
population at 1998. Those main towns with a population of
over 20,000 tend to fall in the 40-60% range reflecting their
stronger critical mass, wide range of services including internal
bus services, employment opportunities and relative importance.
The main towns, with their strategic role as hubs of economic
activity and services, are an important mainstay in achieving
a balanced spread of growth across the Region. In this context,
it is widely recognised that ‘critical mass’ is needed for
successful counter-magnets to the ‘economic pull’ of cities.
Counter-magnets can be developed in single, strong centres
of employment and services or in clusters of settlements.
However, if all the towns in a district or sub-region are
smaller in scale, the potential to create a strong competitive
cluster is weakened. In such situations, residents may have
to travel longer distances to other centres outside the district
to access some employment opportunities and services.
There is evidence that some towns are under-performing in
overall growth reflected in low population increase. It is
useful, therefore, at the Area Plan preparation stage, to
assess the overall health of the principal urban centre, taking
account of district population balance, to see if it may be
failing to achieve sufficient competitive ‘critical mass’
due to an unbalanced distribution of housing and employment
weakening its growth potential. This evaluation could assist
the development of a growth strategy for the district, designed
to strike an optimal housing balance between the towns, villages
and dispersed small settlements, and to maximise the effect
of complementary relationships.
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