Braintree District Council passes government’s Housing Delivery Test, delivering 2,811 new homes between 2019/20 and 2021/22 to meet local needs.
The figures were revealed by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities this week which showed the council performed 152% against its target of homes required, putting the council in a good position compared to other authorities in Essex.
The Housing Delivery Test is an annual measurement of housing delivery to assess the extent to which each local authority is building enough homes to meet their housing need, as determined by central government.
If failed, under government rules, this means a presumption in favour of sustainable development applies and that planning permission should usually be granted.
897 of these homes will be affordable meaning they will be available to either rent or purchase at more affordable levels to help people who cannot afford to purchase or rent homes on the open market. A target of an additional 250 affordable homes is expected to be complete by March 2024.
This week also saw changes announced to the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). In the council’s response to the NPPF consultation last year, it expressed significant concerns on the five-year housing land supply system due to it facilitating unplanned, speculative development as it is heavily weighted in a developer’s favour. It was announced this policy will now be scrapped for councils like Braintree who have an up-to-date Local Plan for any new planning applications.
Councillor Gabrielle Spray, Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure at Braintree District Council, said: “We know we must plan for some new housing in the district to meet our growing communities’ needs and we have done all we can to give permission for new homes in sustainable locations as more people and families move to our district and to meet government targets. We’re also continuing to work hard to secure money through the planning process to ensure that alongside new developments, partners bring forward essential local services and are supported with investment in roads and infrastructure.
“We were also pleased with some elements of the government’s announcement about changes to the national planning system, including the five-year housing land supply which will be scrapped for those with an up-to-date Local Plan like Braintree following our years of lobbying. We also welcome the prioritisation of beauty with well-designed developments being crucial to successful place making and the recognition for the important role planners play in local authorities like ours.
“We appreciate the planning service must be efficient to ensure sustainable housing for communities but the government’s plan to remove the flexibility that exists for local authorities to agree more time with developers to determine applications, particularly those largest and most complex applications, or where changes are necessary as a result of public consultation or responses for statutory consultees, is a backward step. We look forward to putting our views forward to government on this issue when consultation is launched in the New Year.
“Ultimately we are hopeful these changes will give us the best possible opportunity to fight against speculative and poorly designed housing developments and give our communities more certainty that the right homes will be built in the right places across the Braintree district with high quality infrastructure.”
