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Knowsley is undertaking a joint Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) with Sefton and West Lancashire. This is in accordance with Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) and covers a period of 15 years.

The assessment will be reviewed under the council's Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) and at all times will cover a five year housing land supply. The SHLAA should report in October, in time to update the 2008 AMR.

You can download our listed housing land supply position, as at 31 March 2008. This indicates that the council has more than a five year supply, either with current planning consent or allocated in the Knowsley Unitary Development Plan (UDP).

As with all other planning authorities in the North West, Knowsley is assuming that the annual housing supply target in the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) should be the basis for assessing its five year supply. The RSS annual target supply figure is 450 new dwellings, net of replacement of demolished dwellings, giving a net five year supply requirement of 2250.

The overall supply totals 4453 which, divided by 450, would give almost ten years supply. Also set out are assumptions for annual completions of new dwellings for the five years, April 2008 to March 2013. These total 3207 new dwellings or represents just over seven years supply, if divided by the annual target of 450.

We need to be cautious about assumptions for the rate of building over the next few years:

• The assumed rate of housing delivery does not include additions that may result from demolition replacements.
• Although planning permissions are granted it must be assumed that not all such dwellings will actually be built. 

However, with over seven years of deliverable supply identified, it is reasonable to assume that Knowsley has at least a five year supply.