Date published: 2024-09-04 | Category: Housing, Local Plan, Planning
A detailed report before cabinet says the new government target would see a significant uplift in the housing numbers that B&NES needs to plan for going from the current 717 houses per annum to 1,466 per annum. The purpose of this increase is to address historic shortfalls in housing delivery and meeting housing needs.
These new targets would require a reset of the Council’s Local Plan, including a review of the Green Belt and a stronger focus on housing affordability to meet needs of those on lower incomes. In addition, the report says the new targets would need a commitment to regional/strategic planning to ensure that sustainable communities are designed with the right infrastructure to thrive.
The council’s recently adopted Economic Strategy acknowledges that addressing the lack of affordable housing in Bath & North East Somerset is a key priority to improve people’s lives and the report welcomes the Government’s focus on this important issue.
Councillor Matt McCabe, Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, said: “Here in B&NES, we are committed to delivering the right homes in the right places, and homes that are genuinely affordable. We also have an aspiration to be building hundreds of council homes every year. So, I welcome any changes that help us deliver on our priorities. However, the current NPPF consultation proposes a more than doubling of our current housing targets, when compared to the figures included in our new, emerging Local Plan. We had been intending to put a Draft Plan out for consultation at the beginning of 2025, with Draft Plan submission to the Planning Inspectorate next June.
“We need now to carefully consider the impact of the draft NPPF on this programme. We will therefore be seeking more clarity from central government on their methodology for arriving at their new figure, as well as on their levels of commitment to providing more support for affordable housing delivery. Crucially, our residents would expect any additional housing to be supported by much-needed infrastructure - including sustainable transport, health, education and community facilities- and we will be making these points clearly in our response to the consultation.”
In July the Government announced that all councils in England were to be given new, mandatory housing targets and is currently consulting on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system.
Bath & North East Somerset Council needs to respond to the consultation and cabinet is being recommended to note the government’s proposed changes to the NPPF and to agree the key elements of the council’s response to the consultation on the revised NPPF and other changes to the planning system.
Cabinet is recommended to delegate authority to the Executive Director for Sustainable Communities, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, to agree and submit the council’s response to the government’s consultation on the revised NPPF and other changes to the planning system.
It is also being asked to agree a reset of the Local Plan and agree its preparation should progress towards submission in advance of the Government’s new deadline of December 2026.
The Local Plan is an important statutory document used for decision-making on development and the use of land, and when adopted will form the basis for determining planning applications until 2042.
Thousands of responses have been received in a consultation held earlier this year on the Local Plan Options Document – the first stage in the development of a new Local Plan which was due to be consulted on early next year. The outcome of this consultation stage will help to inform the reset of the Local Plan that the council are required to undertake.
Cabinet is being asked to delegate authority to the Executive Director for Sustainable Communities, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Built Environment, Housing and Sustainable Development, to agree and publish a revised Local Development Scheme setting out the revised programme for Local Plan preparation.
And it is recommended the council continues to co-operate with neighbouring authorities and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) to ensure that strategic planning delivers the affordable housing we need, as well as the supporting infrastructure.
You can find out more about the Local Plan on the council’s website.
The report going before cabinet on 12 September can be viewed on the council website . You can watch the Cabinet meeting live at 6.30pm on the same web page, or watch later on the council’s YouTube channel
ENDS