What are the housing figures for Sussex and the national park? An area-by-area breakdown of what our councils are dealing with

As explained above, housing needs can vary in comparison with a council’s housing requirement.

Sussex councils are also at different stages with their local plans.

To further complicate the picture, new data is due to be released on Wednesday (March 23) which will affect councils’ housing needs under the Standard Method.

This was the picture before any new data emerged:

Adur - Adur adopted its local plan in 2017 with a housing requirement of 177 homes per year. In September last year, councillors discussed starting a review of its plan. At that time, an annual housing need of 248 was mentioned.

Arun - Arun adopted its local plan in 2018 with a housing requirement of 1,000 homes per year. Under the Standard Method, its housing need is 1,304. Arun District Council paused a review of its local plan in October last year as a result of uncertainty at a national level over planning policy changes.

Chichester - Chichester adopted its local plan in 2015 with a housing requirement of 435 homes per year. Its housing need under the Standard Method is 634 homes per year. Chichester District Council is in the process of reviewing its local plan but conceded in September last year that it would be ‘unlikely to meet the full housing targets set by the government due to a lack of external funding for infrastructure improvements’.

Crawley - Crawley adopted its local plan in 2015 with a housing requirement of 340 homes per year. Crawley Borough Council is currently in the process of reviewing its local plan. Horsham - Horsham adopted its local plan in 2015, with a housing requirement of 800 homes per year. Under the Standard Method, its annual housing need is 897. Horsham District Council has paused its local plan reivew given recent issues with water neutrality.

Mid Sussex - Mid Sussex adopted its local plan in 2018 with a housing requirement of 964 per year. Under the Standard Method, its annual housing need is 1,093. Mid Sussex District Council said it had paused a review of its plan in January, with its leader calling on the government to reset its housing targets ‘to a level more consistent with our environmental and infrastructure constraints’.

Worthing - Worthing’s new local plan identifies a proposed housing requirement of 230 homes per year, against a housing need under the Standard Method of 885 a year.

Brighton and Hove - Brighton and Hove’s City Plan part one was adopted in 2016. Its housing need was then assessed as a total of 30,120 homes up to 2030. It targeted a housing requirement of 13,200 homes in the same period.

Eastbourne - Eastbourne is currently preparing its new local plan, having adopted its previous plan in 2013. Its current housing requirement is 240 per year, with an annual housing need under the Standard Method of 693.

Hastings - Hastings adopted its local plan in 2014 and is in the process of reviewing it. Its current housing requirement is 200 per year, while under the Standard Method, its requirement is 457 homes per year.

Lewes - Lewes’s local plan part one was adopted in 2016, with a housing requirement of 345 per year.

Rother - Rother is prepararing its new local plan, having adopted its current plan in 2014.

The first public consultation on the plan is due to take place later this year. A spokesman said: “We are aware of the need for more housing across Rother. In 2020 we established our own housing company to accelerate the delivery of housing within the district, focusing on meeting the identified housing needs within our communities. This includes a 200 home development in Battle which starts on site this spring. “Against a requirement of 1,035 dwellings over the threeyear period from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020, Rother delivered 670 net dwellings. Due to changes in how housing targets are calculated, the annual average housing requirement in Rother has increased from 335 dwellings to 737 dwellings per year as of April 1, 2020 and 740 dwellings per year as of April 1, 2021.”

Wealden - Wealden is preparing its new draft local plan, due out for public consultation this spring. The local plan, adopted in 2013, set out a housing requirement of 450 homes per year, while the current housing need under the Standard Method is 1,221 a year.

South Downs National Park - The South Downs National Park explained it did not have housing targets, it has ‘housing provisions’. These set out a total of 4,750 homes over 19 years (2014-2033). This equates to 250 homes a year covering the entire 1,627km2 national park area (covering parts of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex). A total of 1,828 dwellings have been completed from 2014/15 to 2020/21.

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