SHLAA!

SHLAA - sounds like a type of fizzy apple juice – but it isn’t.
It’s the ‘Strategic Housing Land Area Assessment’ – and that’s just a way of assessing what building land is out there and how suitable and ready it is for development. Our vey busy strategic planners have consulted and collated and assessed a huge list of potential development sites in Castle Morpeth.

The list is on the Castle Morpeth BC website – available for anyone to see what is listed in their local area, and express their views back to the strategic planners.
So why not have a look....

But this is just an assessment to see what is there. Just because a site is listed, it doesn’t mean that it is Council policy for it to be developed. It’s just ‘evidence’ not policy.

And the assessment in terms of housing is just a way of measuring the land – it doesn’t mean that houses will be built on the site if it is developed.

Housing Need Survey

Some 11,000 households across the Borough have received a housing needs survey from the Council.

Unlike most consultations and surveys - this one is important because it'll be used by the Borough Council to claim money from central Government to help fund affordable housing schemes - and we have a real problem with house prices in Morpeth.

So - if you get a form, please fill it in and return it - even if you don't think 'housing need' applies to you - the Council needs to get a full picture of the situation.

Although the survey is several pages long and rather intrusive - it is fairly easy to fill in because it is asking for facts rather than views and opinions.

Deadline for returning the forms is Weds 2nd May