Candidate Sites

What is a candidate site?

A candidate site is a site submitted to the Council by an interested party (e.g. developer or landowner) for potential inclusion as an allocation in the 2nd Replacement Local Development Plan (LDP). 

What types of sites can be submitted?

Landowners/proposers are welcome to submit sites for the range of uses that the plan makes provision for. This includes, but is not limited to, land for:

  • Housing; 
  • Employment; 
  • Retail;
  • Community Facilities;
  • Tourism and Recreation;
  • Renewable Energy;
  • Gypsy and Traveller sites;
  • Transport Infrastructure;
  • Waste;
  • Education;
  • Health, Education and Social Care;
  • Biodiversity;
  • Green infrastructure;
  • Minerals

Submitting a candidate site

The first formal call for candidate sites took place between 1 July 2021 and 31 August 2021.

A total of 144 sites were submitted during this period for a range of uses including housing, employment, education, tourism, renewable energy and amendments to the settlement boundary.

Candidate Sites Register has been published. The purpose of the Candidate Sites Register is to identify what land could potentially be available for inclusion in the 2nd Replacement LDP, although the submission of a Candidate Site does not represent a commitment on the part of the Council to take the site forward into the 2nd Replacement LDP.

As part of the Preferred Strategy consultation, interested parties have the opportunity to make comments on the candidate sites that have been submitted. Further information on the consultation, including the Draft Candidate Site Assessment Summary can be found on the consultation portal.

Exhibitions and Drop-in Sessions

Second Call for Candidate Sites

There is an opportunity for new candidate sites to be submitted as part of the consultation on the Preferred Strategy. Any new sites submitted will be required to complete a site submission form and provide supporting information to demonstrate that the site is viable and deliverable.

Sites must be submitted by 30 November 2022.  

Before submitting a candidate site, site promoters are advised to review the Candidate Sites Guidance Notes, which provide advice on the types of site that are likely to be acceptable and the information that will be required to support the submission of a candidate site.

Site promoters are also asked to also refer to the Candidate Site Methodology which provides an overview of the process and explains how sites that are submitted as part of the call for candidate sites will be assessed.

Development Viability

Financial Viability is a key consideration in the candidate site assessment process. Planning Policy Wales (PPW) Edition 11 states that a viability assessment must be provided for candidate sites to demonstrate whether delivery of the site is viable or not.

The Council has worked in partnership with other Councils across the region, alongside Town Planning and Development consultants Burrows-Hutchinson Ltd, to establish the Development Viability Model (DVM) assessment tool. The DVM has been created as a comprehensive, user-friendly model that can be used by site promoters and decision makers for the purpose of assessing the financial viability of a development proposal.

Site promoters must submit a financial viability assessment using the DVM as part of the next stage of the candidate site assessment process. Failure to submit a viability assessment may result in a proposed site not being included in the Deposit RLDP.

The fees for the provision of a copy of the DVM are as follows:

  • Sites of 1-9 units – £195 plus VAT
  • Sites of 10-50 units – £345 plus VAT
  • Sites 51-100 units - £495 plus VAT 
  • Sites of more than 100 units - cost to be agreed with Council depending on size and complexity of proposal 

Viability Guidance Note has been prepared which provides further information on the viability process.

To obtain a site-specific copy of the DVM, together with the user guide and videos, or to discuss any matters relating to the DVM, please contact us.

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