Council remains well protected from speculative housing development

Early figures indicate that the council has a housing land supply in excess of the five years that government requires, ensuring that the council is in a strong position to refuse planning applications from developers for land that has not been allocated for housing by the council in its Local Plan.

National planning policy in England requires councils to have enough sites ready for development to meet their housing need for the next five years. If councils cannot demonstrate five-year supply, national planning policy takes precedence over local planning rules. If a site can be considered to deliver ‘sustainable development’ then planning permission should be granted, even if there is no support from the council for housing in that location or the site sits outside the Local Plan.

Cllr Galton, Cabinet lead for planning, said: “This is really excellent news as it ensures that our current Local Plan remains robust, with the district protected from speculative planning applications for the time being. The council is committed to progress the development of a new Local Plan by June 2025 and lots of work is underway to ensure that the district continues to be protected in this way for future generations.”

The council will publish the exact figure for future housing land supply soon.