District ‘vulnerable’ to housing warning
The Chichester district could become vulnerable to ‘speculative’ housing developments when policies are deemed out of date from next month.
Back in 2015, Chichester District Council adopted its local plan with a housing target of 430 dwellings a year.
At the time it was told by a planning inspector to review this within five years and the deadline for this is July 15.
However the council’s local plan review has been delayed and it faces moving to a higher annual housing target of 628 from next month.
According to officers, without a five-year supply of housing this will leave the area ‘fairly vulnerable to speculative planning applications in locations and on sites that are not necessarily deemed to be appropriate’.
In the meantime the council is working on a draft interim housing policy and will launch a four-week public consultation on the document starting tomorrow (Friday).
This will help guide development in the local plan area, which excludes the South Downs National Park, until the review is adopted.
Members of the planning committee discussed the draft interim policy statement (IPS) last week.
Officers described the IPS as a method of articulating to parties how the council intends to remedy the supply situation and help guide proposals for acceptable development.
While in favour of the direction the council was taking, several members highlighted concerns about pushing too much for higher density developments.
Carol Purnell, chairman of the planning committee, explained that each application would still be judged on its own merits, but any document the council produced had to be ‘positive’.
In a statement Susan Taylor, CDC’S cabinet member for planning, said: “The government requires all planning authorities to have a five year supply of land for housing.
“By introducing an interim policy statement, we can control and shape the development of this much needed housing in the period leading up to the adoption of the local plan review.
“We are encouraging residents and businesses across the district to share their views on the draft statement.”