Government sets increase in Wiltshire’s housing target

But Wiltshire Council fears it may weaken their ability to refuse inappropriate speculative housing applications and could also weaken their case at future planning appeals.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner will make local housing targets mandatory again, as she unveiled an overhaul of England's planning rules to help deliver Labour's promise of 1.5m new homes by 2029.

Cllr Nick Botterill, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for development management said: “We are currently considering our response to the consultation but intend to make our concerns on the changes known to the Government.

“The Government’s proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework may mean a significant increase in Wiltshire Council’s housing requirements, and the proposal to abolish the four-year Housing Land Supply (HLS) which we currently benefit from and revert back to a five-year HLS is of particular concern to a rural county such as ours.

“If these changes are agreed, it may affect our ability to refuse inappropriate speculative housing applications and could also weaken our case at future planning appeals.”

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show the proposed target for Wiltshire has been set at 3,476 new homes annually – up from the current target of 1,917 homes a year, an increase of 1,559.

Across England, councils will now have to plan for around 370,000 homes annually, instead of the previous 305,000. Across the South West, the target has shifted from 28,203 new homes a year to 40,343 homes.

Ms Rayner said: "Our decisive reforms to the planning system correct the errors of the past and set us on our way to tackling the housing crisis, delivering 1.5 million homes for those who really need them."

"And something I am personally proud of, our new flexibilities for councils will boost the number of social and affordable homes and give working families a better route to a secure home."

Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said the proposed changes "have the potential to rebuild trust in our planning system".

Meanwhile, London was the only region to see its target cut, falling from 98,820 homes a year to 80,690.

Ms Rayner defended the cut to London’s annual homes target, saying the previous ambition "based on an arbitrary uplift was absolute nonsense" and that the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan "is determined to rise to" the new target.

The reforms also make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be "yes" and promote housebuilding at greater densities in urban centres, like towns and cities.

However, because there is not enough brownfield land in the country to meet housing needs, the Government will allow the targeted release of 'so-called grey belt land', which includes disused petrol stations and car parks on parts of protected land known as the green belt.

Any green belt land released will be subject to "golden rules" to ensure the development delivers 50 per cent affordable homes with a focus on social rent and has access to green spaces and infrastructure such as schools and GP surgeries.

The method for local authorities to calculate how much land they must allocate for new housing, which relied on data from 2014, will be updated to ensure stock is boosted in every part of the country.

Ms Rayner added: "Rather than relying on outdated data, this new method will require local authorities to plan for homes proportionate to the size of existing communities, and it will incorporate an uplift where house prices are most out of step with local incomes."