Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA)

West Lancashire Borough Council (the Council) is seeking to engage an experienced and suitably qualified Contractor to provide a comprehensive Housing and Economic Development Needs Assessment (HEDNA) study for West Lancashire which would comprise a key part of the evidence base for the emerging West Lancashire Local Plan 2023-2038, the WLBC Housing Strategy, and the WLBC Economic Development Strategy.

It is envisaged the study will have three strands which would inform one another as follows:

Strand 1: Economic / Employment Growth
a) Identify anticipated business sectors which will see growth in West Lancashire to 2038 (and the scale of that growth);
b) Calculate what this sectoral growth means in terms of anticipated job growth in those sectors;
c) Calculate what the job growth means in terms of anticipated employment land needs (use classes B1, B2 and B8), including accounting for any replacement for existing stock (as premises need updating to modern standards);
d) Identify what kind of locations / sites those types of employment / businesses will need going forward;
e) Consider the existing West Lancashire Economic Development Strategy, how it is performing, and what needs to be done to update it to suit the current and future situation.

Strand 2: Overall Housing Need
a) Identify the minimum housing need for West Lancashire over 2023-2028 based on demographic changes (using HM government's standard methodology or a suitably robust and accepted alternative method);
b) Factor in any additional housing need generated by job growth forecasts in 1(b) above;
c) Factor in any additional housing growth generated by other matters such as infrastructure provision (e.g. Skelmersdale Rail Link proposals) or targeted additional growth of a specific business sector – up to five scenarios;
d) Factor in any additional housing need generated by affordable and / or specialist housing needs identified in Strand 3 below;
e) Consider and advise on how the full housing need for West Lancashire should be distributed across the different parts of the Borough;
f) Identify the approximate mix of dwellings required by type and size (i.e. number of bedrooms) of dwelling.

Strand 3: Affordable and Specialist Housing Needs
a) Provide a full assessment of affordable housing needs by tenure, property type and size, household type, and location;
b) Assess need for private rented sector housing, including build to rent, and by location;
c) Assess need for housing for older people by planning Use Class (C2 / C3), tenure, property type and size, and location;
d) Assess need for housing for specific groups, and whether these groups' needs require to be addressed through Local Plan policies;
e) Assess need for purpose-built student accommodation, analysis of current trends in HMO provision and future HMO need and supply;
f) Assess demand / need for other types of housing – temporary agricultural and horticultural workers' accommodation, self-build housing, park homes, and houseboats.