Disappointment
The reason Robert Mellor ordered a cut by 900 homes was to do with an assessment Maidstone council had made over house prices.
The council had added 5% to the total of homes required to counteract rising prices and to provide affordability. The inspector said this market signals adjustment should be deleted. It equated to 900 homes.
It was greeted with disappointment by James Stevens of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) who appeared at the examinations on behalf of the developers.
He said: “The HBF actually argued for a bigger market signals adjustment of 10%. To only build in line with population projections seems not in the spirit of the National Planning Policy Framework. It is status quo planning and not making up any of the shortfall.”