In the debate on the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill local MP Maria Miller welcomed changes which will enable local planning authorities like Basingstoke Council to have certainty that previously high levels of house building in their area can be taken into account when calculating future house building numbers.
Maria said, ‘I welcome the work the Government has done with MPs to find a better way to reflect individual community needs when future house building numbers are calculated. The Minister confirmed today that the Government will formally recognise in planning guidance that areas that have delivered high levels of housebuilding over many years should have that taken into account when determining their future local plans.
‘Basingstoke has built 150,000 new homes in the past five decades, which continues at a rate of about 1,200 a year. There are already ‘exceptional circumstances’ measures available to local authorities to reduce house building numbers in their local area, now alongside that is a much broader definition that includes circumstances where planning authorities face constraints because of exceptionally high levels of house building over a sustained period, such as in Basingstoke.’
This is an important milestone in Maria’s Slow It Down petition and campaign, which she has been working on alongside local residents and groups. The Government’s new approach to calculating housing need, taking into account new factors like high levels of historic building, will impact the way Basingstoke Council approaches its next local plan.
Maria also told the Minister of the build quality problems experienced by some residents moving into new homes and asked for the Government to consider consulting on allowing Councils to take build quality problems into account when considering house builders planning application in future.
Maria said, ‘it is not enough to simply building more and more homes if those homes are not of sufficient quality and will require extensive remedial work as soon as they are sold to their first owner. The Minister was clear that quality is crucial and undertook to consider the matter further.’
Government Announcements
Maria has welcomed the Government announcements and, working with other Conservative MPs, she had pressed the Government to consider the actual needs of communities.
The changes to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill include scrapping the 5-year land supply, removing mandatory house-building targets, as well requiring the Planning Inspector to take better account of local decision making.
These changes will help Basingstoke build homes for residents’ needs rather than the needs of neighbouring authorities who have fallen short in building homes for their own residents.