Parish Data: Blisworth

The purpose of the data in this paper is to provide a picture of what your Parish is like now so that you can begin to use the information to consider what you would like your Parish to be like in 15/20 years.

This profile is provided to offer a range of background information that might be useful during the rural settlement planning process that is being carried out to support the preparation of the South Northamptonshire Settlements and Development Management Local Plan.

The information contained within this profile has been sourced and developed from the 2001 and 2011 censuses. Whilst not all of the information may be required for the purpose of this exercise, it was thought helpful to ensure that a comprehensive range of background information is available to Parish Councils. A map attached at Appendix B defines the boundary of the Parish to which the census data relates.

Policy R1 of the Joint Core Strategy which will provide the framework for the planning of rural areas and settlements within this Local Plan aims to ensure that the scale of the future development of rural settlements is consistent with the objective of meeting local needs and
supporting local services. It is therefore important to consider what your Parish is like now and what needs it has for the future.

2. Housing Data

Number of Householdsⁱⁱⁱ

An estimate of the number of households within the Parish at 2001 and 2011 is provided below based upon information obtained from the Censuses. Figures are also provided on the scale of change over that period and how the estimate of household size (i.e. number of people per household) has also changed over that time.

Number of Households (2001 and 2011): Blisworth Parish and SNC
	2001	2011	Change (2001-2011)	% change (2001 – 2011)
Total number households	792	824	+32	+4%
Household spaces with at least 1 usual resident	771	796	+25
Household spaces with no usual residents	19	28	+9
Average Household Sizeiv	2.32	2.2	-0.12
SNC Average Household Size	2.48	2.4	-0.11

Number of Dwellings^v

An estimate of the number of dwellings in the Parish at 2001 and 2011 is provided below based upon information obtained from the Censuses.

Number of Dwellings (2001 and 2011): Blisworth Parish
	2001	2011	Change (2001-2011)	% change (2001 – 2011)
Dwellings	792	824	+32	4%

Housing Type and Mix

It is important that rural communities have a mixed housing stock. There is a clear link between the type and size of dwelling in an area and the mix and age range of population. The most vibrant villages are likely to have a good mix of dwellings and therefore a more balanced
population in terms of age range One way of monitoring this is to look at the number of bedrooms that properties have, the other is to look at the housing mix by type of property, ie. the proportion of flats and dwellings that are terraced, semi-detached or detached.

Number of Bedrooms^vi

This gives an indication of the number of bedrooms in each property within the village and the resulting housing mix. 

Number of Dwellings (2011): Blisworth Parish and SNC
	1 Bed	2 Beds	3 Beds	4 Beds	5 Beds
Blisworth	45	257	323	132	39
Blisworth %	5.7	32.3	40.6	16.6	4.9
SNC	1543	7268	13891	9184	2799
SNC %	4.4	21.0	40.0	26.5	8.1

Dwelling Mix (2011): Blisworth Parish and SNC
Dwelling Mix	Blisworth	Blisworth %	SNC	SNC %
Caravan or mobile structure	60	7.3	113	0.3
Flat – converted house	8	1.0	287	0.8
Flat – purpose built	18	2.2	1829	5.1
Flat in commercial building	2	0.2	236	0.7
Terraced	104	12.6	5477	15.2
Semi-detached	425	51.6	12488	34.6
Detached	207	25.1	15618	43.3
Total	214	100%	36044	100%

Appendix 1

How many additional dwellings are needed in Blisworth Parish?

Government policy as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework seeks to increase significantly the supply of new housing and sets out the requirement for Local Plans to meet the objectively assessed need for new homes “unless the adverse impacts of doing so would
significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits”.

The JCS will set the total minimum number of dwellings required for the urban and rural areas of South Northamptonshire and will show how the agreed housing targets will be delivered through the Plan period. This overall target is based on a calculation of an ‘objectively assessed housing need’ that takes account of both the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) household projections and the 2011 Census results. Having derived this housing need the next step was to develop realistic options about how this requirement could be met. For the Joint Core Strategy this included consideration of evidence such as the availability of sites taking account of deliverability, viability and constraints.

An important part of the Local Plan will be to distribute the housing growth set out in the JCS across the District. One way of considering how many houses should be provided in a particular village could be to take the overall requirement for housing in the rural areas and proportion this by village in relation to their existing number of dwellings. Effectively this would give the ‘objectively assessed housing need for each settlement area. This proportion could then be increased or decreased by consideration of factors including:

•         What is the existing housing mix within a village?

•         What is the identified affordable housing need?

•         what are the individual aspirations for each village for growth to assist in the supporting
local infrastructure, services and facilities or to seeking to reduce out commuting to work?

•         what level of development has previously been achieved?

•         what sites are deliverable - suitable, available now, achievable and viable?

•         what local environmental designations exist?

•         What is the existing ability of a village to support additional housing in relation to local
facilities and transport links?

•         What is the role of the settlement?

Appendix 1 sets out the numbers this would involve based on the current Core Strategy figures. The assumption has been made that the rural part of the District has 23428 dwellings (data from the 2001 Census) and that the Joint Core Strategy requires 3605 new dwellings in the rural area between 2001 and 2006. This gives a 15.5% increase in the number of dwellings in the rural area. The extract from the table below sets out the housing numbers that would be required in Blisworth before any consideration of the issues set out above. However it needs to be stressed that this is only a worked example and the final figure is likely to change as a result of changes to the figures in the Joint Core Strategy. The Issues Paper asks for comments on this approach. A copy of the table as it relates to all the villages within the District can be found in Appendix 1. 

	Number of dwellings (2001)	15.5% increase in dwelling stock	Completions 2001- 13	Commitments	Residual
Blisworth	792	123                           23                            31                       69