Purbeck District Council has published new evidence ahead of its forthcoming focussed consultation on the Local Plan Review, due at the end of January 2018. Key highlights include:
Objectively assessed need for housing
The Council’s current local plan housing target is 120 homes per year and the 2015 Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) said it should be revised to 238 homes per year. A recent update indicates that the figure should be 173 dwellings per year.
It is interesting to note that the 173 homes target is broadly in line with the indicative figure of 168 dwellings per year identified in the Government’s proposal for a standardised method for calculating housing numbers.
Second homes background paper
The Council is keen to do something about the level of second homeownership in Purbeck. The background paper shows that second homes are having negative social effects, but they are mostly felt in the south of the district in the AONB. Here is where 91% of second homes are found. The Council therefore proposes to restrict the occupancy of all new-build homes in the AONB and rural exception sites district-wide to being principal residences.
For more information on Purbeck’s Local Plan review please contact Chapman Lily Planning