Government rejects local concerns over housebuilding targets

Waverley Borough Council is deeply concerned about Government changes to national planning rules in England.

On 12 December, the Government published revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework, a rulebook for local planning authorities and developers that sets out what they can and cannot do when planning developments. The update includes changes to the way the Government’s ‘standard method’ calculates local housing need, and a requirement for councils to review their Green Belt boundaries where necessary to meet this need.

Councillor Liz Townsend, Waverley Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development said:

"While we support some of the changes that the Government is making to the planning system, we are extremely disappointed that it has ignored the evidence we provided to their consultation, which clearly shows that its proposed ‘standard method’ for assessing housing need is entirely unrealistic for Waverley. The identified need for 1,481 new homes each year is two and a half times the current requirement in our Local Plan and would result in the Borough’s population increasing by around 50% over the next 20 years. There is simply no evidence that there is this level of demand, or that building this number of homes in Waverley would necessarily make them more affordable. More importantly, we just don’t think that the target is realistic given the significant environmental and infrastructure constraints that affect the Borough.

“The council wants to work with the Government, housebuilders, and other stakeholders to deliver the new homes that we need, but growth must be in sustainable locations and at a reasonable pace. Aside from the need to protect our precious environment, including nationally important landscapes and habitats, our residents already face water supply disruptions and sewage overspills, the rural road network is crumbling, health services are overstretched, there is a shortage of secondary school places in Farnham, and some new developments have stalled due to power shortages. We need a clear national plan to address these issues before we can support large-scale development in Waverley.”

The Government announcement represents an immediate change to national planning policy, which the council must take this into account in determining planning applications and in preparing a new Local Plan.

Councillor Liz Townsend continued:

“The council is working on a new Local Plan and is committed to preparing this as swiftly as possible under the updated National Planning Policy Framework. We urgently need clarity on how the Government expects new-style Local Plans to be prepared so that we can ensure there are ample opportunities for residents, businesses, and organisations to get involved.

“We now have no choice but to use the standard method housing formula as the starting point for planning for new homes. How much of this requirement can be accommodated will depend on what land is suitable and available for development, taking into account the many constraints that exist across Waverley. We will ultimately need to demonstrate to an Independent Planning Inspector that we have explored all possible avenues for delivering new homes. There is a huge amount of work to do and we will seek input from our communities in 2025 to help to shape the new Local Plan.”

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