Flintshire County Council Local Housing Market Assessment Update
Client
Brief
In order to provide an up-to-date analysis of the social, economic, housing and demographic context of the County Council area, Flintshire County Council commissioned arc4 to undertake the LHMA Update 2018 – an update of the LHMA 2015, also prepared by arc 4.
The LHMA helps the Council plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, market trends and the needs of different groups in the community. Specifically, the LHMA identified the size, type and tenure of affordable housing imbalance (shortfall) by sub-area and considers and presents the range of household forecasts and future associated dwelling forecasts.
As well as providing information and results for the Flintshire County Council area, arc 4 provided information for six internal sub-areas, in order to provide consistency with the Flintshire County Council Local Housing Strategy 2012-2017 (A Quality Home for Everyone), the previous Housing Market sub-areas produced for the Council in 2012 and the LHMA 2015.
What we did
To deliver the Flintshire LHMA Update 2018, a multi-method approach was adopted, comprising:
- Use of the primary household survey data collected in 2014 for the LHMA 2015. A total of 15,198 households were contacted and 2,437 questionnaires were returned and used in data analysis – this represents a 16.0% response rate overall;
- An up-to-date review of relevant secondary data, including the 2001 and 2011 Census, house price trends, local lettings data, Welsh Government and Communities and Local Government Statistics;
- A survey of key stakeholders, based upon an online questionnaire, of which 19 separate responses were obtained; and
- An agent review, based upon interviews with estate and letting agents operating within Flintshire and the surrounding area.
In the LHMA Update report, data are presented for the Flintshire Council area and six constituent sub-areas.
The Result
The report outlined the scale of future strategic challenges which include the ongoing delivery of new market and affordable housing to address need and support economic growth, diversifying the range of affordable tenures available to local residents, improving the condition and energy efficiency of existing stock and addressing the requirements of older people and vulnerable groups.
As a result of the findings from this study and its methodological approach, arc4 provided Flintshire County Council with a comprehensive, up-to-date, robust and defensible evidence base for policy development.