Elmbridge Borough Council has chosen to cease progressing its local plan, partly in order to consider the impacts of the proposed amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). It has found that if using the new standard method for calculating housing need, their local plan will need to cater for not 653 homes but 1443 homes per year – over doubling the earlier predicted need.
To reiterate, the consultation says that ‘if the revised [local housing need] figure is more than 200 dwellings per annum higher than the annual housing requirement set out in the adopted version of the plan, upon introduction of the new plan-making system, the local planning authority will be required to begin preparation of a plan under the new system as soon as possible, or in line with any subsequent arrangements set out to manage the roll-out of the new system’
Director, Giles Moir commented; ‘this confirms what we were predicting in our news article earlier this month, where my colleague Alan Davies, reported the decision by North Somerset Council to delay their local plan progress. I was already aware that Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council stalled development of its local plan in July ahead of the launch of the consultation”.