Frome Town Council has responded to the government’s latest housing targets, calling for ‘community-led’ schemes to be prioritised in the new plans.
Last month, the government made changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), a set of policies that guide planning decisions.
A key change to the policy is the government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million homes across England over the next five years. The government has set a combined annual target for councils to develop 370,000 homes per year, with 50% of these being affordable homes.
Leader of Frome Town Council, Cllr Steve Tanner, said the town council welcomes the new targets but wants to see more emphasis on community-led schemes that provide the ‘right type’ of housing in areas with a clear need.
He said, “We fear that by setting significantly increased housing targets, the government will open the door to numerous speculative applications around Frome, which will neither provide the social and rented housing that we require, nor make a significant improvement to the already overstretched infrastructure in the town.”
Other key changes to the NPPF include the prioritisation of brownfield sites for development. Brownfield sites are previously developed or derelict land.
The five-year land supply has also been reinstated, determining how many homes the council can commit to delivering over the next five years.
Councils must demonstrate they have a five-year land supply and an up-to-date local plan. If they fail to do so, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applies. This presumption gives greater weight to speculative housing development proposals, even if they do not align with the local plan.
As a result, it can become more difficult to resist applications for new housing in areas not identified for development.
Pictured: Planning and development manager Jane Llewellyn and leader of the council, Cllr Steve Tanner