MID Devon District Council may need to build an extra 4,500 homes over the next two decades if proposed changes to national planning guidelines are implemented.

The government has consulted local councils about proposals to change what it calls the “standard method” for how it calculates housing need, which will dictate how many homes local authorities need to build.

This work is part of the government’s attempts to reform the national planning policy framework (NPPF), which sets out Westminster’s economic, environmental and social planning policies.

It also puts an emphasis on what it terms “sustainable development”, and urges councils to approve such planning applications, especially if the authority cannot demonstrate that it has enough land to provide five years’ worth of houses.

At present, Mid Devon must build 346 homes every year, but if the changes to the NPPF take place, then this could rise to 571, the district councils scrutiny committee was told.

That’s 225 extra homes per year for the 20-year period of the council’s local plan, taking the total over that period from 6,920 now to 11,420.

Mid Devon responded to the government’s consultation in September. It did not agree to the proposed changes.

“The problem with the proposed approach is that housing stock is not an accurate indicator of housing need,” it said in its consultation response.

“The proposed approach means that the more housing there is in a local authority area, then the more homes are needed.

“This fails to take into account; migration; where homes are vacant or are under occupied; where occupants will not generate future housing need; or where there will be household dissolutions.”

Tristan Peat, forward planning leader, told the council’s scrutiny committee his team is working to bring draft policies and site options for houses to the council in the new year.

Bradley Gerrard

LDRS