Housing delivery test is ‘blatantly unfair’ on West Sussex councils say campaigners
A new housing delivery test set by the Government is ‘blatantly unfair’ on West Sussex councils, according to campaigners.
Figures released last week showed that the Chichester district passed as it had delivered 126 per cent of the number of new homes required.
However the Arun district was one of several which just missed its target at 91 per cent and will have to produce an action plan.
Between 2015/16 and 2017/18 Chichester’s target was 1,304 homes and it delivered 1,641, but over in Arun 2,214 homes were built compared to the target of 2,423 dwellings.
A spokesman for Arun District Council said: “Arun District Council has only recently received the results of the housing delivery test from the Government (20 Feb 2019).
“In anticipation of these, a report to consider how the council would respond to these new requirements was taken to cabinet in November 2018.
“The council is working hard to ensure that all the appropriate permissions for development in accordance with the local plan are in place and once they are established, that developers build the homes in a timely manner.
“However, we must be mindful of the challenges which affect the market such as consumer confidence and the range of homebuilders working in Arun, all of which are outside the council’s control.”
Arun adopted its local plan in July last year.
Chichester adopted a local plan in 2015 but a review is currently underway with a new plan expected to be ready by 2020.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England has argued councils are being set up to fail by the Government as it is ultimately developers who control how quickly new homes are built.
Roger Smith, from the CPRE’S Sussex branch said: “This method is blatantly unfair and has been rigged in favour of the building industry.
“Our councils have been set up to fail. Some councils – Mid Sussex and Horsham for example - have passed the test this year but have no control over build-rates so could fail the test this time next year.
“Councils which passed this year will also probably find themselves taking additional housing numbers resulting from the 20 per cent buffer imposed on any neighbouring districts which have failed the test.”
He warned that councils are at risk of failing the housing delivery test despite being able to demonstrate a five year housing land supply.
Dr Smith also pointed towards the fact that in any area that failed the test any community with a neighbourhood plan more than two years old would be more vulnerable to developerimposed housebuilding.
Chichester was one of just six of the 13 local authorities across Sussex to pass the test.
Chichester District Council held an eight-week consultation from December to February on its preferred approach as part of its local plan review.
The document increased its annual target to 650 new homes a year, excluding the part of the district within the South Downs National Park, up to 2035.
The previous requirement was for 435 homes per annum, which it surpassed in 2015/16 (553), 2016/17 (440) and 2017/18 (648).
On authorities that have just failed the test, or below 95 per cent, the National Planning Policy Framework says the authority ‘should prepare an action plan in line with national planning guidance, to assess the causes of underdelivery and identify actions to increase delivery in future years’.
Back in November Arun’s cabinet members agreed to fund an extra post in the planning policy team to deliver the required monitoring data, engage with stakeholders and developers and put together an action plan if required.