Council pauses local plan in hope that housing need numbers “will be greatly reduced” under new NPPF
East Devon District Council has decided to stop considering new site allocations for its local plan in order to wait to make use of a proposed change to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that will give councils more leeway over meeting housing targets.
The decision made by the council's Strategic Planning Committee meeting last week (14 February) makes East Devon the ninth local authority to change the course of its local plan or delay following the news that the government plans to reform the NPPF.
A consultation launched in December revealed a number of changes that the government intends to make to the NPPF, including an amendment emphasising that: "The outcome of the standard method is an advisory starting-point for establishing a housing requirement for the area."
The council has just finished a ten-week consultation on its plan, the East Devon Local Plan.
Cllr Paul Arnott, Leader of the council, tabled the motion that no further discussions or decisions on potential sites take place until the government makes its decision.
The committee agreed to the motion, which means council officers will only continue the technical work needed to support local plan production, such as water, sewerage and other environmental matters.
Cllr Arnott said: "Last year, our council wrote to the government calling for an urgent re-analysis of inflated housing need numbers imposed on the communities of East Devon.
"Pending any reply, we continued with the Local Plan consultation as required by law."
He continued: "This week - at the first opportunity to do so - I proposed that we put the sites aspect of the work on hold until what we hope will be confirmation that our housing numbers will be greatly reduced.
"I was very pleased that this won cross-party support. The ball is now in the government's court to deliver a new National Planning Policy Framework."
West Suffolk Council also decided to delay the passage of its local plan last week so that its draft plan can "can include changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF)".
At least nine councils have now moved to pause their local plans over the proposals.
The list includes Isle of Wight Council, South Staffordshire Council, North Somerset Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Horsham District Council and Teignbridge District Council, and Mole Valley District Council.
Teignbridge was one of the first councils to pause its plan but has since adopted its local plan in line with recommendations from officers that warned a delay in adopting its local plan would leave the council relying on older policies and "exposed to applications for 'unallocated' sites".
The government has said it plans to implement the proposed changes to the NPPF this Spring. Other policy changes set out in the consultation include the removal of the requirement for councils to continually demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, new lines that stress councils are not required to revise Green Belt boundaries or build at densities out of character even if they are set to miss their house building targets and the ability to include past over-delivery in their housing numbers.
Additionally, the tests of 'soundness', which local plans are subject to at the examination stage, will be simplified so that they are no longer required to be justified.
Adam Carey
Read our spotlight article on the changes to the NPPF here.
