A CONSERVATIVE mayor says councils should be forced to accept mandatory housing targets.
Last year, the government said they would axe imposing numbers on local authorities, following lobbying by Wokingham Borough Council’s administrations, both Conservatives and the current ruling Lib Dem groups.
The shake-up of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) made targets advisory, despite the government pledging to see 300,000 homes built each year across the country.
Labour said if it wins the next general election, it would commit to building 1.5 million homes by the end of the parliament, with new housing policies promised ahead of the vote which could be as soon as May 2.
In November, Wokingham MP Sir John Redwood wrote: “I have successfully lobbied the government with other similarly placed and like minded MPs. The government is dropping the national top down targets requiring large amounts of new development in places like Wokingham, and the operation of the five year supply of land rules.
“What the government asks in return is that local planning authorities including Wokingham Borough should produce an up-to-date local plan making reasonable provision for new homes and be prepared to defend their case. With a proper local plan we are then promised permissions will not be granted on appeal outside the approved plan areas.”
But in an interview with the i newspaper, published on New Year’s Day, Andy Street, the West Midlands mayor, said the housing targets were helpful for ensuring homes were built.
“Bring them back,” he said. “Having a national target which you work out at a local level forces you to think about how you’re going to do it.”
He also said the West Midlands was the only region in the country to meet its housing targets, something that Wokingham Borough would dispute given that it has oversupplied in recent years.
Before Christmas, Cllr Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said they were pleased the targets were advisory and people want to have high-quality affordable homes built in the right places.
“The reality is that planning is not a barrier to house building. Nine in 10 planning applications are approved by councils despite significant resourcing and capacity issues across the country,” he said.
“In order to help increase the speed of local plan-making and housing delivery, we urge the Government to bring forward consultations on a revised National Planning Policy Framework and National Development Management Policies which will form the backbone of a new style of plan-making due in Autumn 2024.”
