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Search the Public Notice PortalCHANGES to the planning system could see thousands of new homes built in Westmorland and Furness over the next five years.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has updated the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) resulting in revised house building targets for each local authority.
Westmorland and Furness Council has been targeted with building 1,331 homes a year under the new method, lower than the previously proposed target of 1,430 homes the local authority was initially set in July before consultation on the proposals was carried out.
In the area managed by the new council there was an average of 773 homes built each year between 2020/2021 and 2022/2023. Under the previous system the authority is targeted with delivering 227 homes per year.
All councils in England have been given new housing targets in a bid to build 370,000 homes a year.
According to the government the new mandatory targets will mean councils must boost housebuilding in areas most in need.
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council previously said: “Westmorland and Furness Council is committed to supporting more housing to meet all needs so that local families can build a life here, new people can be attracted to relocate and older residents and those with disabilities are able to live as independently as possible whilst receiving the support they need.
“We support high quality housing that is affordable, well designed and energy efficient and accompanied by appropriate infrastructure to support communities.”
The Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has written to every council leader and chief executive in England to state there is not just a ‘professional responsibility’ but a ‘moral obligation’ to see more homes built.
The letter added she will not hesitate to use her powers of intervention should it be necessary including taking over an authority’s plan making directly.
Ms Rayner said: “I will not hesitate to do what it takes to build 1.5 million new homes over five years and deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
“We must all do our bit, and we must all do more. We expect every local area to adopt a plan to meet their housing need. The question is where the homes and local services people expect are built, not whether they are built at all.”
Reforms announced by the government make explicit that the default answer to brownfield development should be ‘yes’.
Land released in the Green Belt will be subject to the government’s ‘golden rules’, which make clear that development should deliver a ‘premium level’ of affordable homes, increase access to green spaces and put the necessary infrastructure is in place, such as schools and GP surgeries.
Following consultation, areas must commit to timetables for new plans within 12 weeks of the updated NPPF or ministers will ‘not hesitate’ to use their existing suite of intervention powers to ensure plans are put in place, the government said.
To support councils to update their local plans and review their current greenbelt land, areas will receive an additional £100 million of cash next year that can be used to hire more staff and consultants as well as more resources to carry out technical studies and site assessments.
This is on top of ‘bolstering local resources’ with increased planning fees to cover costs and an additional 300 planning officers, making sure they have the staff and capacity needed to approve homes for local people, the government added.
