Equality Impact Assessment - Unitary Development Plan Policies

An initial screening of all Unitary Development Plan policies revealed that full equality impact assessments (EQIA) should be carried out on Chapter 9 (Community Services), Chapter 3 (Housing) and Chapter 11 (Transport). It was assessed that these three policies could have a disproportionately negative effect on black and minority ethnic groups, disabled people and women (or men). A full EQIA was therefore undertaken to ascertain the extent of this possible negative impact, to determine how to minimise that impact and increase any possible positive impact.

This EQIA was completed in February 2007. It will be automatically reviewed during the process of preparing the LDF (Local Development Framework).

Background to the Unitary Development Plan

1 The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Unitary Development Plan (UDP) First Alteration 2005 Written Statement was prepared in accordance with the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. The purpose of the UDP is to provide a strategic and local planning framework for guiding developments in the borough. It plans ahead to 2016, and supersedes the borough’s first UDP adopted in March 1998.

2 The new plan has taken several years to prepare. It has been modified at various stages in the statutory process in response to the many views expressed by residents, elected members, commercial concerns and a wide range of other organisations with an interest in the future of the borough or their local neighbourhood.

3 The process of reviewing the 1998 UDP began back in 2000 with public consultation on issues. Two sets of ‘proposed alterations’ went out to public consultation, as well as some ‘pre-inquiry changes’ before a public inquiry was held into the plan in 2003. The Council published the Proposed Modifications to the plan in July 2004 in light of recommendations in the Inspector’s Report (published March 2004). Further minor modifications were published in December 2004 with an intention to adopt the plan. The Secretary of State then intervened, directing the Council to modify its policy on affordable housing (Policy H9) and its car parking standards for employment generating uses. Subsequently the Council published proposed modifications to meet the direction. The plan was finally adopted in August 2005.

4 The UDP has been agreed as being in general conformity with the London Plan by the GLA, however a number of policy areas were assessed as requiring review and bringing into conformity through the first trance of LDF policies.

5 The Unitary Development Plan consists of a Written Statement and a Proposals Map. Part I of the Written Statement includes an Introduction which explains the purpose of the plan, how it fits in with other Council policies and proposals, and sets out the broad strategy which underlies the plan policies.

6 Part I of the Written Statement also sets the wider policy context based on national, regional and London-wide guidance and contains strategic policies for the borough. Some relevant factors are illustrated on the Context Map at the end of this section of the plan. More detailed local policies in Part II have been developed within this broad framework to provide more detailed guidance for proposed new developments. Part II policies are presented on a topic or area basis, include the reasoned justification for the strategic policies, and are carried through to specific guidance for sites (proposal sites) and areas where development opportunities exist or for which the Council has specific proposals.

7 Appendices also form part of the statutory plan. They include car parking standards, specify particular areas or list properties to which policies refer, and contain a glossary defining technical terms used in the plan.

8 Consultation process for the UDP

The consultation process for the UDP is governed by guidance in Planning Policy Guidance note 12: Development Plans (PPG12) and is contained within annex C. The regulations no longer set out any statutory consultees, however it advised that certain people/ organisations should be consulted on key issues prior to the initial deposit of the plan. These included the Secretary of State (for Environment, Transport and the Regions) the Environment Agency, the Countryside Agency, and English Nature and also English Heritage.

9 In addition to the advised consultees above, the regulations advised that other organisations needed to be consulted on key issues which may impact on their area of specialism. It is this category where the majority of our consultees came from. The UDP database consists of over 1500 individuals and organisations.

10 The review of the UDP began with the production of issues papers, highlighting key planning issues and putting forward possible options for updating the UDP’s approach to the policy. The intention of the Issues stage is to encourage local people and organisations to have their say on the future shape and direction of the policies contained within the UDP. It is the responses to this initial stage of consultation that guided the alterations to the policies.

11 The issues papers covered the topics of:

Housing
Economy and Employment
Shopping and Town Centres
Transport
Open Land and Riverside
Renewable Energy, Waste and Minerals
Proposal Sites

12 Monitoring of the UDP policies

At the end of each financial year, the planning policy team have produced an Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) to meet the requirements set out in Section 11(1)(a) of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act. This report monitors the core indicators of the UDP; 58 indicators have been developed in order to gain a monitoring overview of the implementation of the UDP. These indicators are attached to the Strategic Policies of the UDP (PART1).

13 Reform of the Planning System

In 2004 the planning system was reformed with the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Consequently, the UDP First Alteration will not be replaced with another UDP, but with a ‘Local Development Framework’ (LDF). The policies in this UDP will be automatically saved until August 2008, unless superseded before then. They may be saved for longer, subject to approval by the Secretary of State.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames UDP: First Alteration 2005 - Chapter 9 – Community Services

1.0 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) is to improve the work of the Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, promotes equality and fulfils the duty under the Race Relations Act (as amended) 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. An EQIA focuses on systematically assessing and recording the likely equality impact of a service, policy or project. There is a focus on assessing the impact on any group of people, in particular the equality target groups. This involves anticipating the consequences of policies and projects on these groups and making sure that, as far as possible, any negative consequences are eliminated or minimised and opportunities for promoting equality are maximised. This report is a Final Assessment of the Community Services chapter of the Councils Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The full impact assessment should be able to show:

That there is no adverse impact or potential adverse impact on different groups,
If there is actual or potential adverse impact, that measures will be taken to remove or reduce it.

1.2 The EQIA process considered the likely impact of the UDP and in this case the Community Services chapter on the following target equality groups:

Men and Women

Black and Minority ethnic communities

Asia and Asian British (including Tamil, Gujarati, Korean)
Chinese and other
White

Disabled people

Visually impaired people
Hearing impaired people
Physically disabled people
People with learning difficulties
People with mental health difficulties

1.3 However, it is important to note that the Equality Act 2006 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age, in addition to gender, race and disability. In addition, the Act provides for the establishment of a Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which will replace the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Race Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. The Commission, to be established in October 2007, will seek to promote diversity and equality for all by reducing inequality, eliminating discrimination and strengthen relations between diverse members of the community.

2.0 Preparation and Background

2.1 The Royal Borough of Kingston is a London Borough situated in South West London with a population of nearly 150,000. Our population is diverse and reflects multi racial U.K. today with an ethnic minority population estimated at currently 13.8%. Our diversity is reflected in the number of languages spoken in the borough, with the main ones, apart from English, including Hindi, Urdu, Gujarat, Tamil, Arabic, Chinese, Bengali and Korean. Accurate statistics relating to the borough’s disability profile are unknown, however it is estimated that 16% of the population have a disability, this is in comparison to 20% of the British population identified as disabled.

2.2 At the time of the Census in April 2001, the resident population of Kingston upon Thames consisted of 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female. This compared with the resident population for the London region of 7,172,091 people, of whom 48 per cent were male and 52 per cent were female. In the borough, 61,426 households are identified, of these 5% are lone parent households. The 2001 census recorded 11993 students resident in the borough.

2.3 In the twenty years between 1982 and 2002 the population of Kingston upon Thames grew by 13 per cent, compared with an increase of 9 per cent for the London region as a whole. The population density of Kingston upon Thames in 2002 averaged 4,031 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4,679 for the region and 380 people per square kilometre for England overall.

2.4 One of the key objectives in the Councils Policy Programme is to ‘be a Council which celebrates diversity and practices equality in everything we do, in providing or commissioning services, and as an employer.’

2.5 The UDP Community Services chapter underwent initial EQIA screening in May 2005. It was identified that the policies had a high impact on the equality target groups and the residents of Kingston generally. Therefore the decision was made to proceed with a full EQIA.

2.6 Preparation for proceeding with the full assessment involved collating external documents, including research, consultations and good practice guidance relating to community facilities and planning. Identification of council written reports which included evidence of consultation with Kingston’s equality target groups was also undertaken.

3.0 Community Services - UDP Chapter 9 (for background to UDP see above)

3.1 Community Services in the context of the UDP are the majority of services other than retailing or employment uses, either commercially or non-commercially operated, which support or enrich the lives of local people, and which have land use planning implications. Community services include such facilities as hospitals, schools, day centres, libraries, nurseries/crèches for children and places of worship.

3.2 The UDP recognises that local community services will change as the needs of local people, and ways of meeting these needs, change. They will be provided by a mixture of the Council, central government, the private and voluntary sectors and not-for-profit organisations, often operating in partnership within particular projects.

3.3 The policies contained with this chapter cover, for example, the provision of new community facilities and the extension of existing facilities, facilities for care in the community, customer facilities and conveniences and gypsies and travellers.

3.4The UDP defines community services as:

Institutions in the D1 Use Class comprising any use not including a residential use:

a. for the provision of any medical or health services except the use of premises attached to the residence of the consultant or practitioner;

b. as a crèche, day nursery or day centre;

c. for the provision of education;

d. for the display of works of art (otherwise than for sale or hire);

e. as a museum;

f. as a public library or reading room;

g. as a public hall or exhibition hall;

h. for, or in connection with, public worship or religious instruction.

4.0 Monitoring Results

4.1 The research gathering stages for this EQIA found very little information or data available regarding the use of community services by equality target groups. The UDP review process did not undertake ethnicity and equality monitoring with its consultations, which contributes to the low availability of data. However, all planning policy consultations undertaken for the LDF process are now accompanied with the Councils corporate equality monitoring form.

4.2 The UDP encourages the development of community services requiring a strategic location in the borough to be located within Kingston Town Centre and other more local services to be located within the District Centres. The provision of these facilities in these locations is identified to capitalise on the availability of public transport, and public off street parking. A Key issue has been identified concerning accessibility of services and therefore the location of services, “want care built around people, care that helps them take control of their lives and their well being…” (Department of Health, 2006, pp3). Investigations now need to be undertaken in Kingston to assess how accessible its community facilities are.

4.3 The UDP Policy CS1, recognises that uses such as primary health care facilities/ one stop health centres can generate high visitor numbers and enable users to make multi-purpose trips. The policy also recognises that some community services may be most appropriately provided at a more local level. The Department for Health has recently published ‘Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services’ (2006) this publication states that “..the way forward is identified as providing ‘services’ all in one location” It also advocates the use of mobile clinics which go to specific places such as community centres or mosques. The Department of Health is promoting more NHS walk-in centres/ welcome centres “..anyone who walks into the centre is greeted in their own language.” This type of centre allows people to find out about benefits, find support on parenting issues, get help accessing health services, learn how to get their children into school, sort out housing problems etc. All the expertise is there on the spot. It is hoped that there will also be better access to out of hour’s services.

4.4 The needs and requirements of the equality target groups with relation to the provision of community facilities are unknown due to insufficient community consultation undertaken in the past. However, the Primary Care Trust is involved in the UDP process and meets with the planning department on a regular basis to discuss the provision of services in the borough. However, little data is currently available from the PCT concerning the needs of the equality target groups.

4.5 Kingston contains 7 libraries which provide a broad variety of information for residents/ visitors to Kingston. There are also two ‘helpdesks’ located in the Malden Centre and Chessington Neighbourhood Office. These helpdesks enable people to pick up information leaflets and forms, report problems and faults, find out about Council services, view planning applications and apply for a grant or benefits. The use of the Council’s information centres and receptions is monitored, however data relating to equality monitoring of users is currently not collected.

4.6 The UDP/ LDF team have identified that the Gypsies and Travellers policy requires review and further supporting evidence to be collected. The UDP contains Policy CS5 which states that the council will retain the existing travellers site and states the requirements that a proposal for a new site will include. There is one authorised gypsy and traveller site in the borough at Swallow Park, Tolworth, this has the capacity for 24 caravans on 15 pitches. The bi-annual count undertaken in July 2005 for the ODPM identified that 23 caravans were present on the site. The ODPM also requires a bi-annual count of all unauthorised encampments, 7 caravans were identified in the borough.

4.7 The classification of community facilities incorporates education establishments. Kingston has a wide range of Primary Schools. Nursery Education is provided at one Nursery School and Nursery Classes attached to 22 Primary and Infant Schools. The borough has 37 Primary schools (including Infant and Junior) of which 14 are Church Schools. There are 10 Secondary Schools; all providing education from 11 to 18 years, and 3 Special Schools. Kingston Adult Education is committed to providing a quality service of equality – free from all discrimination and we aim to reflect the diversity of culture and background in our community. A number of facilities provide adult education courses the main two are the North Kingston Centre and the King Charles Centre, these are accessible facilities. To ensure the delivery of the correct education establishments to serve the needs of the whole borough and others, the planning department are dependent upon information provided by the Education department of the Council. Education liaison meetings are held between the relevant officers to ensure that this information is provided and an understanding of the education requirements is obtained.

4.8 Kingston College provides a wide range of courses both part time and full time. The college has on enrolment 3500 full time students and 3500 part time students. We have been unable to obtain any data on the ethnicity mix of students and their disabilities.

4.9 Kingston University has in attendance 17719 students, of these 8046 are non-white (50.5%) and 7856 (49.5%) are white. The university has also provided data concerning the declared disability profile of students; 417 have declared a disability and 487 are declared dyslexic.

4.10 Through discussions with Council officers, it has been identified that there is an increasing ‘dual-use’ of education facilities for places of worship and schools for religious teachings at weekends or in the evening. Further investigation of this use and the needs of the communities involved therefore should be investigated further to ensure that future planning policy delivers community facilities to meet the needs of the boroughs residents.

4.11 The Planning and Development department now requires Design Statements and Access Statements to be submitted with the majority of planning applications. Access Statements are required to be submitted with applications for change of use, residential applications involving the construction of two or more dwellings and non domestic applications involving new buildings or alterations to existing buildings (for example community services). The requirement to submit these statements means that development now considers the ways in which the principles of inclusive design have been incorporated into the proposed development.

4.12 It has been identified that the time scales for information desegregation of other organisations who are vital in the information stages of the policy development are often very different than those for the UDP process. The UDP and the emerging LDF is a document which plans for development over at least 10 years. Many organisations, such as the primary care trust only plan for much shorter timescales, probably 3 years. This often means that the future needs and requirements for the provision of GP surgeries, for example is unknown when the planning policy team are preparing their planning documents.

5.0 Conclusion

5.1 In conclusion, the Community Services chapter of the UDP provides succinct policies to enable the provision of a wide range of services. However it has been identified that it order to ensure that the needs of the equality target groups are addressed through planning policy that further community engagement and needs assessments are required. The Planning and Development Department are now in the process of producing the LDF. The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) is a document the policy team are producing which sets out how the community are to be involved in all aspects of planning in the future. This document identifies how the equality target groups will be involved in the consultation process through early engagement methods such as workshops, exhibitions and exhibitions.

5.2 The planning teams currently meet with the PCT and education officers, the continuation of these meetings will ensure that the development of revised planning policies will be informed of the future requirements of these services.

5.3 The effectiveness of the community services policy in delivering accessible services is currently unclear. The development of appropriate monitoring systems and procedures is required to enable accurate and on-going monitoring of existing and future services.

6.0 DOCUMENT REVIEW

6.1 The following documents are of relevance to the Community Services chapter of the UDP:

The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London, GLA, February 2004
Diversity and Equality in Planning – Good Practice Guide, ODPM, January 2005
Planning and Access for Disabled People, ODPM, 2003
Residents Services Overview Panel, report of the 21^st July 2005 – Cross-cutting services for disabled people: outcome of scrutiny.
Department of Health, Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services, 2006

7.0 Consultation

7.1 As described in section 3 the UDP has undergone numerous stages of public consultation before becoming adopted in August 2005.

7.2 The Residents Services Overview Panel report of the 21^st July 2005, undertook evidence gathering between June and October 2004 from service users and stakeholders. From this consultation an initial report was presented to the ROP in November 2004. This highlighted a number of issues that required further investigation and recommended a further period of scrutiny. As a consequence of the review a number of work streams have been initiated. Also identified by the scrutiny groups were a number of options and recommendations for further action.

8.0 Action Plan

8.1 The UDP is saved for 3 years whilst the Planning Department produce the suit of documents that form Local Development Framework for Kingston. The action points set out below will be incorporated in the LDF process, ensuring that equalities inform the development of new development plan documents. The LDF will be subject to EQIA.

Raise the issue of dual use of schools for other purposes including religious teachings in evenings and weekends via the LDF process (November 2006).
Strengthening of internal relationships with other Council departments, to ensure the development of well informed policies for the Core Strategy DPD and Development Control Policies DPD.
Ensure that relevant Council departments and officers (access officer, community services department etc.) inform the LDF process with reference to community facilities and equality issues.
Raise the issue of community needs and facilities via the LDF Core Strategy preparation.
Through the LDF preparation, consultation will be undertaken with the PCT to determine any specific need in relation to location of/ access to primary health care facilities. This issue has been identified as particularly relevant due to evidence from national data that some black and minority ethnic groups experience greater problems in access to appropriate health services.
Recommendation for the establishment of Corporate Forums focusing on equality and race building upon the recently established Disabled and Older People’s Forum. These corporate forums are the ideal opportunity for hard to reach groups to be contacted and representatives to be invited to join and be formally consulted to inform a wide range of Council policies and programmes (including the emerging LDF).
Future consultation for the LDF documents will be in accordance with Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), this needs to ensure that the equality target groups are involved in all consultation.

9.0 Publishing Arrangements

9.1 This report will be available to view on RBKs website (www.kingston.gov.uk) under the Planning Policy pages and the Equality pages. The report can also be viewed at Environmental Services reception, in Guildhall II.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames UDP: First Alteration 2005 - Chapter 3 - Housing

1.0 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) is to improve the work of the Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, it promotes equality and fulfils the duty under the Race Relations Act (as amended) 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. An EQIA focuses on systematically assessing and recording the likely equality impact of a service, policy or project. There is a focus on assessing the impact on any group of people, in particular the equality target groups. This involves anticipating the consequences of policies and projects on these groups and making sure that, as far as possible, any negative consequences are eliminated or minimised and opportunities for promoting equality are maximised. This report is a Full Impact Assessment of the Housing chapter of the Councils Unitary Development Plan (UDP), adopted August 2005. The full impact assessment should be able to show, either:

That there is no adverse impact or potential adverse impact on the equality target groups, or
If there is actual or potential adverse impact, the measures that will be taken to remove or reduce it.

1.2 The EQIA process considered the likely impact of the UDP and in this case the Housing chapter on the following target equality groups:

Men and Women

Black and Minority ethnic communities

Asia and Asian British (including Tamil, Gujarati, Korean)
Chinese and other
White

Disabled people

Visually impaired people
Hearing impaired people
Physically disabled people
People with learning difficulties
People with mental health difficulties

1.3 However, it is important to note that the Equality Act 2006 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age, in addition to gender, race and disability. In addition, the Act provides for the establishment of a Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which will replace the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Race Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. The Commission, to be established in October 2007, will seek to promote diversity and equality for all by reducing inequality, eliminating discrimination and strengthen relations between diverse members of the community.

2.0 Preparation and Background

2.1 The Royal Borough of Kingston is a London Borough situated in South West London with a population of nearly 150,000. Our population is diverse and reflects multi racial U.K. today with an ethnic minority population estimated at currently 13.8%. Our diversity is reflected in the number of languages spoken in the borough, with the main ones, apart from English, including Hindi, Urdu, Gujarat, Tamil, Arabic, Chinese, Bengali and Korean.

2.2 At the time of the Census in April 2001, the resident population of the Kingston upon Thames consisted of 49 per cent were male and 51 per cent were female. This compared with the resident population for the London region of 7,172,091 people, of whom 48 per cent were male and 52 per cent were female.

2.3 In the twenty years between 1982 and 2002 the population of Kingston upon Thames grew by 13 per cent, compared with an increase of 9 per cent for the London region as a whole. The population density of Kingston upon Thames in 2002 averaged 4,031 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4,679 for the region and 380 people per square kilometre for England overall.

2.4 In the borough, 61,426 households are identified, of these 5% are lone parent households. The 2001 census recorded 11993 students resident in the borough.

2.5 One of the key objectives in the Councils Policy Programme is to ‘be a Council which celebrates diversity and practices equality in everything we do, in providing or commissioning services, and as an employer.’

2.6 The UDP Housing chapter underwent initial EQIA screening in May 2005. It was identified that the housing policies had a high impact on the equality target groups and the residents of Kingston generally. The policy was identified as being potentially discriminatory to BME groups as most housing is planned to reflect British cultural expectations, for example our culture favours small family units which may not accord with other cultures. Therefore the decision was made to proceed with a full EQIA. Additionally, the UDP policy was not considered to require sufficient accessible housing for disabled residents.

2.7 Preparation for proceeding with the full assessment involved collating external documents, including research, consultations and good practice guidance relating to housing and planning. Identification of council written reports which included evidence of consultation with Kingston’s equality target groups was also undertaken.

3.0 Housing - UDP CHAPTER 3

3.1 The policies contained within the UDP housing chapter, concentrate on:

Facilitating the provision of a sufficient amount of housing development to contribute towards regional and London-wide requirements;
Facilitating the provision of housing, of different types and in a variety of locations, to serve people’s differing needs;
Encouraging a good standard of design and amenity for residents, their neighbours and in terms of the wider street scene.

These three aims have no adverse impact on equality, diversity and race.

3.2 It is recognised that housing and its provisions have economic and social implications, as well as purely physical ones. The framework of planning is such that planning policies are expected to concentrate on the physical manifestations of housing, while taking the social implications into consideration.

3.3 The UDP has policies in place which ensure the delivery of “affordable housing” (Policy H9). Affordable housing caters for those who cannot afford local open market prices. The definition of ‘affordable’ in the plan is tailored to the local circumstances of this comparatively wealthy and attractive area of south west London, where market demand tends to result in high house prices and rents and the provision of affordable housing is seen as important.

3.4 The chapter also provides for the special needs of people requiring sheltered or other accommodation providing care, assessed according to the Council’s community care plan. At the other end of the spectrum, the policies also allow for the provision of student accommodation such as halls of residences and hostels for single people in appropriate locations.

4.0 Monitoring Results

4.1.1 The UDP review process did not undertake ethnicity and equality monitoring as part of its consultation process. This contributes to the low availability of data. However, all planning policy consultations undertaken for the LDF process are now accompanied by the Councils corporate equality monitoring form.

4.1.2 The Strategic Policies of this housing chapter are concerned with housing supply (STR1) this seeks to increase the supply of housing in the borough, this is an all encompassing policy. Residential Environment (STR2) states that the council will seek the safeguarding and, where appropriate, the enhancement, of the character and environment of existing residential areas, and will resist over development and town cramming. It will be ensured that new development is appropriate to its surroundings and does not detract from the character of the area. This policy can impact upon the equality target groups, ensuring a safe and accessible environment for new development. The key policy with regard to the equality target groups is Housing Need (STR3), this states that the council will seek to ensure that all residents of the borough enjoy a standard of accommodation to meet their needs.

4.1.3 To understand the background to housing supply and the needs of the boroughs residents and to evaluate whether the policies contained within the housing chapter have an actual or potential adverse impact, information has been obtained from the Councils Housing Department, census data, housing completions and performance and London wide comparison data from the literature review.

4.1.4 The 2001 Census recorded 61,426 household in the borough, this was an increase of 5592 on the previous 1991 figure. The borough has been allocated a strategic housing figure of 6710 new residential units for the period 1997 to 2016. The total number of completions between 1997 and December 2003 was 3,052. The total number of residential units under construction was 490, there were also 228 residential units with outstanding planning permission and 252 residential units with planning permission subject to the completion of a legal agreement. Including the 1000 potential units identified as proposal sites in the UDP, the borough has achieved 5022 units towards the strategic target. The average annual completion rate for the 7 years 1997-2003 is 436. This is ahead of the London Plan strategic target for 1997-2016 of 6710 homes (including non-self contained units such as rooms in hostels), which works out as an annual monitoring figure of 340. The borough therefore has a healthy pipeline of residential stock – those under construction and those with planning permission.

4.1.5 The average household size in the borough in 2001 was 2.3 people compared with an average of 2.4 people for England and Wales. Female lone parent households made up 5% of the borough’s household mix.

4.1.6 RBK had its housing needs survey completed in 2001, this confirmed that there is an acknowledged need for affordable housing in the borough. The survey was undertaken by personal interviews with 1,260 households completing an interview. The survey covered all areas and tenure groups in the Borough. The survey sample, drawn from the council tax register, was stratified in such a way as to allow analysis within the borough of the 5 grouped wards. The survey data was weighted to make it representative of all households in the borough – this was done in terms of the number of households in each ward and within all main tenure groups. It was estimated that there were 63,460 households in the borough at the time of the survey, of these 74.5% are owner occupied, 12.2% are social housing tenants and 13.3% are in private renting and other tenure groups and include student households.

4.1.7 Each survey household was assessed for housing suitability. This was done by a combination of questions (e.g. home in need of major repair) and objective judgements from other survey information (e.g. about overcrowding). It has been estimated that in the Borough as a whole 9,196 households are living in unsuitable housing – representing 14.5% of all Borough households. It is seen that almost a third of Council tenants, almost a quarter of private tenants and 16.0% of Housing Association tenants are living in unsuitable housing. It is estimated that 39.1% of the households in unsuitable housing need to move to solve their housing problems; this represents 3,599 households (or 5.7% of all households in the borough). Only 1,867 of the households would be looking to remain within the Borough.

4.1.8 The survey brought together the local housing market data and the financial information collected from each household, enabling it to estimate the number of households living in unsuitable housing (and who need to move home) who cannot afford to access the private sector housing market. The survey estimates that of the 1,867 households living in unsuitable housing (and who need to move home within the Borough) some 57.1% cannot afford to buy or privately rent a suitable home, representing 1,066 households.

4.1.9 The survey uses the following classification of unsuitable housing:

Homeless or with insecure tenure
Mismatch of households and dwelling
Dwelling amenities & condition
Social requirements

4.1.10 The survey illustrates that 14.5% (9,196) of the boroughs households are identified as having at least one unsuitability problem with their existing housing arrangements. Black and Asian households and also special needs households were found to be significantly more likely to be living in unsuitable housing than other households. The survey has assessed the ethnic origin of existing households in unsuitable housing. It identifies that of the total 9,196 households identified, 7, 505 (13.6%) are white, 28 (8.2%) are mixed, 1,053 (26.6%) are Asian, 249 (27.1%) are Black, 125 (12.5%) are Other and 237 (10.1%) are student households. The survey identifies that 1,263 of the total 5,584 special needs households in the borough are in unsuitable housing. This therefore illustrates that a high number of those in unsuitable housing are from BME groups.

4.1.11 The UDP, through the housing policies cannot deliver housing for specific BME groups, the policy is to deliver housing to meet the needs of the whole community. The UDP through policy H9, enables the delivery of low cost and affordable housing, and through H11 and H12 accessible housing, which are described in sections 4.2 and 4.3 of this report, and policy H10 delivers sheltered housing.

4.1.12 The survey estimates that there is an annual need over the next 5 yrs for 1,812 affordable homes. The supply to meet this demand is estimated at 447 dwellings per annum. The survey therefore indicates that there is an annual shortfall of 1,365 affordable homes.

4.1.13 The 2003/4 completions figures for affordable housing were 73 units.

4.1.14 To put the RBK figures in context, the majority of the established households in housing need in London are of White ethnic origin (representing 53.1% of the total), but only 3.4% of all White established households are in need. Therefore despite White households dominating the profile of households in need, such households only make up a small fraction of the total White household population of London. Black households represent over a quarter (26.9%) of those established households currently in housing need. Mixed ethnic backgrounds have a similarly high proportion of households in housing need (11.9%).

4.1.15 An EQIA has been undertaken for the GLA Housing Strategy, key findings from this are:

Bangladeshi, Black African and Black Other households are most likely to indicate that they live in unsuitable housing, with “home too small” cited as the main reason.
12% of households do not have enough bedrooms in the social sector.
Special needs households are twice as likely as other households to indicate that their current housing is unsuitable.

4.1.16 Council Housing and Lettings performance is monitored on a continuous process. The council monitors its performance in respect of ethnic minority applicants. In 03/04, 27.7% of lettings were to ethnic minority groups who make 28% of applications to the housing register. The figures up to 31^st March 2004 illustrate that there were 4,639 households on the housing register, of these 1298 were of black and ethnic minority groups (28%). It should be noted that of the 83 lettings that were houses, 28.9% were let to ethnic minority applicants. 22% of estate lettings have been made to black/ other ethnic minority households (estates counted included new housing association which are clearly of a high standard). 28.9% of houses were let to black/ethnic minority groups as compared to 27.7% of all lettings made to this group. This reflects the policy of ensuring that homeless households receive a fair share of lettings in new housing association schemes. This indirectly benefits black and other ethnic minority groups who are disproportionately represented amongst homeless households. This performance indicates that in terms of the proportion of ethnic minority households accommodated and the quality of accommodation allocated to this group, the Council is meeting its targets of fairly allocating the accommodation to which it has access.

4.1.17 An assessment of the housing register eligibility and points scheme, indicates that race, disability and gender are not differently affected in the service they receive, identified through regular monitoring.

4.1.18 When the housing policies in the adopted UDP, 2005 were written, the need for larger family units across the borough was not known to the planning department. This is a recently identified issue which the council is aware of. The Council is commissioning a housing needs survey to identify the requirements of its residents, this survey will supersede the current 2001 survey and will form the evidence base for the review of the housing policies in the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF). This survey will enable the Council to develop planning policies which can ensure the delivery of more family units in areas where a need has been identified, both affordable and marketable units. The London Plan which forms part of the development plan for the borough, through its alterations process is examining the mix of units that can be achieved through policies. This review to policy will directly impact on the LDF housing policies.

Discussions with the Disabled Children’s Services section of the Council has identified that a number of families are currently in unsuitable housing or housing that is too small to meet the needs of their families. This assessment has identified that it is both private owner occupied housing and Housing Association housing that is unsuitable. It has also been identified that women and young families are indirectly discriminated against with the majority of new housing development, due a high proportion of flats/ apartments now built with no private outdoor space and little community amenity space.

4.1.19 As discussed earlier in this report the housing chapter of the UDP has been assessed and policies H9, H10, H11 and H12 have been identified as having the greatest impact on the equality target groups, as discussed in the following sections.

4.2 Low cost and affordable housing

4.2.1 Policy H9 of the UDP – Low cost and Affordable Housing, is the policy through which “the Council, in liaison with other bodies including the private sector and registered social landlords, will encourage and promote the provision of affordable low cost and social rented accommodation in the borough in accordance with an assessment of local need.” (RBK, 2005, UDP: First Alteration, pg 38)

4.2.2 The UDP target for affordable housing completions is 40% of all new housing (at least 25% of which to be social rented, and up to 15% intermediate housing).

4.2.3 The table below shows the number of affordable homes supplied each year, also expressed as a percentage of total dwelling completions.

Financial Year	Net completions	Affordable	% Affordable
1997/98	580	67	12
1998/99	689	28	4
1999/2000	415	35	8
2000/01	375	108	29
2001/02	134	25	19
2002/03	519	24	5
2003/04	423	73	17
2004/05	509	159	31

4.2.4 A Supplementary Planning Document has been prepared to “help deliver good quality affordable housing of the right type, size and tenure” (2006,RBK, ‘Affordable Housing SPD). This SPD is produced to support policy H9.

4.2.5 The intention is that this SPD will help all parties involved (the Council, developers, landowners and Registered Social Landlords) deliver affordable housing through new development. The SPD seeks to provide greater clarity and certainty, particularly in terms of:

the planning process leading to submission of a planning application;
when the affordable housing policy applies;
the proportion of affordable housing sought in private schemes;
The expected affordable housing dwelling mix (size, type and tenure) and design considerations on a development site.

4.2.6 The SPD provides guidance on the ‘mix’ of affordable homes. In terms of tenure, the UDP states that 62.5% of the affordable dwellings should be social rented, the remainder (no more than 37.5%) being intermediate. (This split differs marginally from the 70:30 split in the London Plan but is derived from the UDP target that 40% of all new homes built will be ‘affordable’ homes, 25% being social rented, the remaining 15% being intermediate. This target is based upon the 2001 Housing Needs Survey.). The London Plan has a London-wide target that 70% of affordable housing is ‘social rented’ and 30% is intermediate. The Housing Corporation’s funding for affordable housing is also targeted to achieve the same 70:30 split. The Council will therefore seek to achieve the 70:30 split between social rented and intermediate provision. Within these tenures, the expected mix in terms of type (houses or flats) and size (number of bedrooms) is:

Dwelling mix (size and type) by tenure*
*Social rented provision*
1 bed (2 persons)	24%
2 bed houses (4 persons)**	34%
3 bed houses (5/6 persons)**	30%
4 bed houses (7/8 persons)**	10%
5 bed houses (9/10 persons)**	2%
	100%
Intermediate provision
1 bed (2 persons)	50%
2 bed houses (3 persons)**	24%
2 bed houses (4 persons)**	17%
3 bed houses (5/6 persons)**	9%
	100%

* based on the priority applications on the Kingston’s Housing Register at Sept 05

** flats where considered appropriate by the Council

Wheelchair housing: Where wheelchair housing is required (sites of 20 or more units in accordance with UDP Policy H12) the Council will normally expect the percentage of wheelchair housing provided (at least 10%) to apply to both the market and the affordable elements of the proposal. The dwelling mix of the wheelchair homes will be provided by the Council at pre-application stage to accord with current priority needs.

4.2.7 The Council’s approach is to seek to achieve this mix on every development site, except on sites capable of providing a higher proportion of family housing.

4.2.8 The community services team have undertaken an assessment of the UDP. A problem has been identified concerning the delivery of new housing by RSL’s and developers. Sufficient housing is not provided for large family units, which is indirectly discriminatory against BME applicants. This issue has now been addressed through the SPD on Affordable Housing, as described above.

4.2.9 In recent years the greatest challenge to achieving the expected dwelling mix has been the provision of affordable family housing. In the years 2002 – 2004 of 116 affordable units built, 78 were 1 or 2-bed dwellings, and 38 were 3+ bedroom dwellings. Planning permissions granted between April 2003 and March 2005 included 112 affordable units, but only 6 of these were for dwellings larger than 2-bedroom units. 60.7% are 1-bed units, 33.9% are 2-bed units, 3.6% are 3-bed units and 1.8% are 4-bed units. The Council recognises that different sites will pose different design challenges in terms of providing family accommodation, especially on sites suited to developments of flats. However, even in blocks of flats, good quality family accommodation can be provided, for example, at ground floor level, with access to a private garden or private communal amenity space. It is crucial that well-designed family housing with access to private or communal gardens is ‘designed-in’ to achieve the expected dwelling mix on a site. The council is committed that affordable housing should comprise accommodation with high quality design and materials and adequate amenity space.

4.3 Accessible housing – H11 and H12

4.3.1 During 2004/2005 it became apparent that the inadequacy of access policies in the UDP with respect to residential properties was resulting in many new dwellings being built with poor access for disabled and older people. In contrast to this, the London Plan, which was adopted earlier than the UDP, seeks to ensure that 100% of new housing is built to Lifetime Homes standard and that 10% is built to full wheelchair standard. Concern was raised with the GLA on this matter, and in the summer of 2005 the GLA provided legal advice, enabling Kingston to start requiring applicants to demonstrate compliance with Lifetime Homes standards in newly-built housing.

4.3.2 Applicants proposing to construct new dwellings are now sent guidance on the 16 Lifetime Homes criteria and advised how they can demonstrate compliance with these criteria. Most applicants are happy to meet these extra requirements so the initiative is resulting in new homes being more accessible and adaptable than they would have been without the requirement to comply with Lifetime Homes standards. In addition, Development Control is encouraging applicants with proposals for apartment blocks, even relatively small ones, to include a lift, in line with the Lifetime Homes concept.

4.3.3 With respect to wheelchair housing, the UDP suggests that an appropriate proportion of wheelchair standard units be sought in developments of more than 20 units. As the UDP was adopted later than the London Plan, it is not possible to apply this to smaller developments. However, it is intended to encourage applicants for larger developments to include more than 10% wheelchair accessible units. Guidance to help the deliver of policies H11 and H12 has been produced by the planning and development department. This guidance will be endorsed by the Council’s Executive committee in Spring/ Summer 2006.

4.3.4 The Planning and Development department now requires Design Statements and Access Statements to be submitted with the majority of planning applications. Access Statements are required to be submitted with applications for change of use, residential applications involving the construction of two or more dwellings and non domestic applications involving new buildings or alterations to existing buildings (for example community services). The requirement to submit these statements means that development now considers the ways in which the principles of inclusive design have been incorporated into the proposed development.

4.4 Sheltered Housing

4.4.1 Policy H10 of the UDP promotes the delivery of Sheltered Housing for Elderly People and People with Disabilities. A number of proposal sites also specify that they are suitable for special needs housing, including sheltered accommodation. The 2006 Sheltered Housing analysis identified 1093 residents. Of these, 134 were aged between birth to 64, 501 aged 65-80years and 297 were aged 80 years and over (61 ages were unknown). The identification of the need for sheltered housing within the borough has been unable to be determined during this assessment process.

5.0 Conclusion

5.1 In conclusion the process of undertaking an EQIA into the UDP and its housing chapter has identified a number of equality issues.

5.2 The delivery of affordable housing has been at the forefront of the UDP development. The direction from the Secretary of State on policy H9, resulting in the Council reducing its affordable housing threshold from 15units to 10units. The recently adopted SPD on Affordable Housing provides guidance on the delivery of policy H9. The SPD acknowledges that the greatest challenge to achieving the expected dwelling mix has been the provision of affordable family housing.

5.3 The housing needs survey (2001) estimates that there is an annual need over the next 5 yrs for 1,812 affordable homes. The supply to meet this demand is estimated at 447 dwellings per annum. The survey therefore indicates that there is an annual shortfall of 1,365 affordable homes. This shortfall has implications for all borough residents in housing need, including the equality target groups.

5.4 Information provided by the Council’s Housing team illustrates that in terms of the proportion of ethnic minority households accommodated and the quality of accommodation allocated to this group, the Council is meeting its targets of fairly allocating the accommodation to which it has access. However, the problem identified concerning the delivery of new housing by RSL’s and developers, which does not sufficiently provided for large family units, which is indirectly discriminatory against BME applicants is now issue has now been addressed through the SPD on Affordable Housing, as described above.

5.5 When the housing policies in the adopted UDP, 2005 were written, the need for larger family units across the borough was not known to the planning department. This is a recently identified issue which the council is aware of. The Council is commissioning a housing needs survey to identify the requirements of its residents, this survey will supersede the current 2001 survey and will form the evidence base for the review of the housing policies in the emerging Local Development Framework (LDF). This survey will enable the Council to develop planning policies which can ensure the delivery of more family units in areas where a need has been identified, both affordable and marketable units. The London Plan which forms part of the development plan for the borough, through its alterations process is examining the mix of units that can be achieved through policies. This review to policy will directly impact on the LDF housing policies.

5.6 Monitoring information has been provided regarding the ethnic minority of applicants on the council housing and lettings lists, information is not available on the number of lone female parents and women on these lists or if they are disabled. It is recommended that this information is gathered for future assessments. Further information is required concerning sheltered housing and special needs housing to determine if there is a need for greater or less provision. This should be determined through the forth coming housing needs survey, as indication in the Action plan in section 8.

5.7 The Council has identified that policies H11 and H12 were not delivering the correct levels of accessible residential housing resulting in poor access for disabled and older people. Legal advice was received from the GLA and the Council has produced a guidance note for development control officers, which was endorsed by the Executive in Summer 2006.

5.8 The Council will be undertaking a new Housing Needs Survey in 2006/07 which will inform the development of the housing policies for the Core Strategy DPD. This study will examine the housing need of the whole borough, not just those on the Councils housing lists. The brief of this study therefore should identify that the equality target groups should be consulted as part of the study. In particular the assessment of the need for wheelchair housing is required to be undertaken, this will be in discussion with the Community Services section of the Council.

5.9 The UDP is available for purchase by members of the public; residents of the borough can purchase the plan at a half price rate (£25). The Plan is available to view at all the borough’s libraries and the Chessington and New Malden help desks. The UDP is also available to download from the council’s website, in pdf format which is compatible with computer reading devices used by the visually impaired. The Council provides an interpretation service, and all documents can be transposed onto cassette tapes. This illustrates the council is actively promoting equality.

6.0 Document Review

The following documents are of relevance to the Housing chapter of the UDP:

Diversity and Equality in Planning – Good Practice Guide, ODPM, January 2005
Meeting Part M and Designing Lifetime Homes, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 1999
Housing Needs Survey 2001
Accessible London Supplementary Planning Guidance, GLA 2004
Planning and Access for Disabled People, ODPM, 2003
Residents Services Overview Panel, report of the 21^st July 2005 – Cross-cutting services for disabled people: outcome of scrutiny.
The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London, GLA, February 2004
Planning Policy Guidance note 3: Housing (PPG3)
Wheelchair Housing Design Guide 2006 (BRE Press)
The Housing Corporation, Race Equality Scheme 2005
London Household Survey 2002
RBK Housing Needs Survey, 2001

7.0 Consulation

7.1 As described in section 3 the UDP has undergone numerous stages of public consultation before becoming adopted in August 2005.

7.2 The Residents Services Overview Panel report of the 21^st July 2005, undertook evidence gathering between June and October 2004 from service users and stakeholders. From this consultation an initial report was presented to the ROP in November 2004. This highlighted a number of issues that required further investigation and recommended a further period of scrutiny. As a consequence of the review a number of work streams have been initiated. Also identified by the scrutiny groups were a number of options and recommendations for further action.

8.0 Action Plan

8.1 The UDP is saved for 3 years whilst the Planning Department produce the suit of documents that form Local Development Framework for Kingston. The action points set out below will be incorporated in the LDF process, ensuring that equalities inform the development of new development plan documents. The LDF will be subject to EQIA.

Undertake housing needs assessment (joint study with Housing department, expected late 2006) of the whole borough, ensuring that the equality target groups are consulted and that wheelchair housing need requirements and the need for sheltered housing are examined to get the best possible understanding of the borough’s need.
Undertake gypsy and traveller needs assessment - the GLA is undertaking this assessment on a London wide basis expected 2007.
Ensure the LDF strategy and policies address accessible housing and inclusive design and that documents are subjected to EQIA.
The forthcoming Residential Design Guide SPD must deal with accessibility issues. This document was timetabled for public consultation in February 2007 but is being rescheduled.
Further monitoring information should be gathered on the disability profile and gender profile of the Council’s housing and lettings waiting lists.
Ensure that the guidance on Design, Access and Sustainability Statements up to date.
Future consultation for the LDF documents will be in accordance with Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), this needs to ensure that the equality target groups are involved in all consultation.
Recommendation for the establishment of Corporate Forums focusing on equality and race building upon the recently established Disabled and Older People’s Forum. These corporate forums are the ideal opportunity for hard to reach groups to be contacted and representatives to be invited to join and be formally consulted to inform a wide range of Council policies and programmes (including the emerging LDF).

9.0 Publishing Arrangements

9.1This report will be available to view on RBKs website (www.kingston.gov.uk) under the Planning Policy pages and the Equality pages. The report can also be viewed at Environmental Services reception, in Guildhall II.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames UDP: First Alteration 2005 - Chapter 11 - Transport

1.0 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) is to improve the work of the Council by making sure it does not discriminate and that, where possible, promotes equality and fulfils the duty under the Race Relations Act (as amended) 2000 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. An EQIA focuses on systematically assessing and recording the likely equality impact of a service, policy or project. There is a focus on assessing the impact on any group of people, in particular the equality target groups. This involves anticipating the consequences of policies and projects on these groups and making sure that, as far as possible, any negative consequences are eliminated or minimised and opportunities for promoting equality are maximised. This report is a Final Assessment of the Transport chapter of the Councils Unitary Development Plan (UDP). The emphasis of this EQIA is on whether the policies have an actual or potential adverse impact on the groups. The full impact assessment should be able to show:

That there is no adverse impact or potential adverse impact on different groups,
If there is actual or potential adverse impact, that measures will be taken to remove or reduce it.

1.2 The EQIA process considered the likely impact of the UDP and in this case the Housing chapter on the following target equality groups:

Men and Women

Black and Minority ethnic communities

Asia and Asian British (including Tamil, Gujarati, Korean)
Chinese and other
White

Disabled people

Visually impaired people
Hearing impaired people
Physically disabled people
People with learning difficulties
People with mental health difficulties

1.3However, it is important to note that the Equality Act 2006 outlaws discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, religion or belief and age, in addition to gender, race and disability. In addition, the Act provides for the establishment of a Commission for Equality and Human Rights, which will replace the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Race Equality and the Disability Rights Commission. The Commission, to be established in October 2007, will seek to promote diversity and equality for all by reducing inequality, eliminating discrimination and strengthen relations between diverse members of the community.

2.0 Preparation and Background

2.1 The Royal Borough of Kingston is a London Borough situated in South West London with a population of nearly 150,000. Our population is diverse and reflects multi racial U.K. today with an ethnic minority population estimated at currently 13.8%. Our diversity is reflected in the number of languages spoken in the borough, with the main ones, apart from English, including Hindi, Urdu, Gujarat, Tamil, Arabic, Chinese, Bengali and Korean. Accurate statistics relating to the borough’s disability profile are unknown, however it is estimated that 16% of the population have a disability, this is in comparison to 20% of the British population identified as disabled.

2.2 At the time of the Census in April 2001, the resident population of Kingston upon Thames consisted of 49 per cent male and 51 per cent female. This compared with the resident population for the London region of 7,172,091 people, of whom 48 per cent were male and 52 per cent were female. In the borough, 61,426 households are identified, of these 5% are lone parent households. The 2001 census recorded 11,993 students resident in the borough.

2.3 In the twenty years between 1982 and 2002 the population of Kingston upon Thames grew by 13 per cent, compared with an increase of 9 per cent for the London region as a whole. The population density of Kingston upon Thames in 2002 averaged 4,031 people per square kilometre, compared with an average of 4,679 for the region and 380 people per square kilometre for England overall.

2.4 One of the key objectives in the Councils Corporate Policy Programme is to ‘be a Council which celebrates diversity and practices equality in everything we do, in providing or commissioning services, and as an employer.’

2.5 The UDP Transport chapter underwent initial EQIA screening in May 2005. It was identified that the transport policies had a high impact on the equality target groups and the residents of Kingston generally, therefore the decision was made to proceed with a full EQIA.

2.6 Preparation for proceeding with the full assessment involved collating external documents, including research, consultations and good practice guidance relating to transport and planning. Identification of council written reports which included evidence of consultation with Kingston’s equality target groups was also undertaken.

3.0 Transport - UDP CHAPTER 11

3.1 This chapter sets out the Council’s land use and traffic management policies for ensuring that travel in the borough develops in a sustainable way which contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of all sections of the community. The UDP transport policies are considered alongside proposals for specific transport schemes which are set out in the Local Implementation Plan (LIP) which is the means by which the council seeks Government funding from Transport for London (TfL) for transport projects.

3.2 The UDP, through the transport chapter recognises that landuse and transport policies and decisions have major impacts on each other and need to complement each other. The plan policies promote positive integration by:

Promoting high density development, especially for major traffic generators, as much as possible in town centres where they are accessible by public transport, walking and cycling;
Promoting the viability of local centres and facilities which are more accessible by walking and cycling;
Resisting large out of centre developments where they would encourage longer journeys by car, be poorly served by sustainable travel modes or be potentially harmful to the vitality or viability of existing centres in the borough.

3.3 These location policies are complemented by transport policies which encourage sustainable travel in order to promote a cleaner, greener, healthier and more prosperous future for the borough.

4.0 Monitoring Results

4.1 The UDP review process did not undertake ethnicity and equality monitoring as part of its consultation process. This contributes to the low availability of data. However, all planning policy consultations undertaken for the LDF process are now accompanied by the Councils corporate equality monitoring form.

4.2 In UK transport policy, a gender bias has been identified meaning that more women than men are not making journeys to access a range of public services, to take up job opportunities, or to engage in the normal activities of citizens.

4.3 It has been identified that the UDP is not very forthcoming on the issue of the provision of disabled parking bays. It is recommended that officers should take guidance from the London Plan (Policy 3C.22 and Annex 4:35) and British Standard 8300:2001. This identified weakness will be addressed in the action plan.

4.4 The broad objective of the plan’s parking policies is that parking is provided in conjunction with development should provide parking for visitor’s, employees and all users of the development in a way that is consistent with ensuring that road safety and amenity are not adversely affected and that is consistent with the aim of promoting sustainable development. The UDP parking standards, as set out in Appendix 1 and delivered through Policy T20 and T21 refer to the maximum number of spaces to be provided. The adopted car parking standards are designed to achieve a level of parking consistent with the UDP’s sustainability objectives. These standards are designed to meet the average needs of the particular type of development rather than the specific needs of individual occupiers.

4.5 Policy STR13 – Sustainable Transport Strategy seeks to provide accessibility through sustainable development of the various transport networks, of relevance to the equality groups. In particular public transport, facilities to encourage greater walking and cycling and the implementation of appropriate traffic calming measures.

4.6 Policy T1 – Transport Safety illustrates that the UDP recognises that safety is a major concern. The policy states that proposals will be assessed as having regard to their safety implications and particularly the effects they have on vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, frail elderly and disabled people. This illustrates that the policy contributes positively to our equality target groups. The Equalities Assessment of Kingston’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP) has identified safety concerns of men and women are heightened after dark, and women consistently feel more insecure than men. The British Crime Survey indicates that women are four more times likely than men to feel unsafe walking at night, with women aged 60 and over feeling most unsafe. The LIP also states recent surveys show that 73% of women would use public transport more if they felt more confident about safety and security.

4.7 Policy T7 Traffic Calming in New Developments will ensure that in all new developments incorporating the provision of local or access roads, that they will be designed and constructed to incorporate current traffic calming measures particularly in respect of controlling speeds and securing an attractive and safe environment. This policy has particular impact upon the elderly, disabled and young families, who generally walk or use other forms of transport other than the car. A safer environment through the introduction of low speed zones and home zones is welcomed. These initiatives are assessed and delivered through the Highways and Transportation Department.

4.8 Policy T11 Public Transport Accessibility encourages the use of public transport. It has been identified that London and National statistics indicate that each of the equality target groups has above average reliance of alternative modes of transport, especially public transport and that the policy of directing resources heavily toward non-car modes is therefore promoting equal opportunities and will benefit the whole community.

4.9 A report by the Social Exclusion Unit ‘Making the connections’ (Feb 2003) identifies the relationship between transport, social exclusion and the location of jobs and key services, it identifies that 40% of job seekers say transport is a problem. The Equalities Assessment of Kingston’s Local Implementation Plan (LIP) has identified that on average Women make 3% more trips than men, but also travel less distance than their male counterparts (London Travel Report 2004). It has been assumed that this pattern is similar for the borough as no figures are available to confirm this. The London Area Transport Survey (LATS) 2001 shows that women make 24% of their journey’s by public transport, 15% more than men, due to a higher number of walking and bus trips. However, although these figures demonstrate a high use of public transport by women the barriers they face mean that, increasingly women are turning to the private car to meet their specific transport needs. (RBK, LIP, 2006). The LATS survey also identifies that 77% of all escort trips by women are to school.

4.10 Research within RBK identifies that minority ethnic groups are less likely to own cars and more likely to work unsociable hours when public transport services are most sparse. Bus travel is the most common mode of public transport for Asian, black and minority ethnic groups, with 55% using bus travel on three or more days a week. The Social Exclusion Unit has identified that people answering ‘yes’ to the question ‘Do you have a long term disability or health problem affecting your ability to get about?’ make fewer trips overall, generally 70% of the average number of trips made by able bodied Londoners. Although the UDP does not deliver transport schemes, these are the remit of the Highways and Transportation department, the UDP needs to ensure that new development properly addresses the situation with regard to access to public transport facilities.

4.11 The UDP through Policy T22 Transport Contributions enables the council, where appropriate to enter into agreements with developers to make financial contributions commensurate with the transport impact of the development. These contributions are used to support improvements to sustainable forms of transport and associated initiatives such as light and security schemes. The delivery of this policy can contribute to improvements put in place by the Highways and Transportation team which can have a positive impact upon all equality target groups.

5.0 Conclusion

5.1 In conclusion, the undertaking of a full equalities assessment of the UDP’s Transport chapter has identified a number of equality issues.

5.2 With regard to parking provision for disabled people, the strength of the polices delivering parking standards (T20 and T21) need to be revised and further guidance provided to planning officers with regard to their achievement and implementation. This is recommended to be developed as an action point in section 8 of this report.

5.3 The existing UDP transport policies encourage and seek to achieve a broad range of transport initiatives which are generally delivered through the Highways and Transportation Department. Policies are contributing to the provision of low speed zones and home zones which have major positive safety benefits for the whole community and in particular women and families and the elderly.

6.0 Document Review

The following documents are of relevance to the Transport chapter of the UDP:

The London Plan: Spatial Development Strategy for Greater London, GLA, February 2004
Planning Policy Guidance note 13: Transport (PPG13)
Diversity and Equality in Planning – Good Practice Guide, ODPM, January 2005
Accessible London Supplementary Planning Guidance, GLA 2004
Planning and Access for Disabled People, ODPM, 2003
The Mayor’s Transport Strategy, GLA, 2004
Equality Impact Assessments for Local Implementation Plans, Transport for London, June 2004
RBK, Local Implementation Plan, 2005
Promoting Gender Equality in Transport, Equal Opportunities Commission, 2005

7.0 Conclusion

7.1 As described in section 3 the UDP has undergone numerous stages of public consultation before becoming adopted in August 2005.

7.2 The Residents Services Overview Panel report of the 21^st July 2005, undertook evidence gathering between June and October 2004 from service users and stakeholders. From this consultation an initial report was presented to the ROP in November 2004. This highlighted a number of issues that required further investigation and recommended a further period of scrutiny. As a consequence of the review a number of work streams have been initiated. Also identified by the scrutiny groups were a number of options and recommendations for further action.

8.0 Action Plan

8.1The UDP is saved for 3 years whilst the Planning Department produce the suit of documents that form Local Development Framework for Kingston. The action points set out below will be incorporated in the LDF process, ensuring that equalities inform the development of new development plan documents. The LDF will be subject to EQIA.

Recommendation for the establishment of Corporate Forums focusing on equality and race building upon the recently established Disabled and Older People’s Forum. These corporate forums are the ideal opportunity for hard to reach groups to be contacted and representatives to be invited to join and be formally consulted to inform a wide range of Council policies and programmes (including the emerging LDF).
Investigate the re-establishment of the Mobility Forum (Highways and Transportation to action)
Disabled Parking Bays – Officers should use the London Plan and BS 8300 rather than existing UDP guidance. The LDF should therefore improve policy relating to disabled car parking.
Future consultation for the LDF documents will be in accordance with Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), this needs to ensure that the equality target groups are involved in all consultation.

9.0 Publishing Arrangements

9.1This report will be available to view on RBKs website (www.kingston.gov.uk) under the Planning Policy pages and the Equality pages. The report can also be viewed at Environmental Services reception, in Guildhall II.