We note that the wording for this policy is still be drafted in full. However, the proposal to encourage the delivery of 44,400 new homes over the plan period (2,111 homes per year), is broadly supported.
The plan outlines that it is necessary for the Local Plan to accommodate a sufficient number of new homes to ensure that the recent trends of higher house prices and in-commuting due to a lack of homes in the area, can be reversed.
However, we believe that when the policy is drafted, the number of new homes should be expressed as a minimum and that the policy should have flexibility to allow further homes to come forward in certain circumstances. Such as the planned supply of homes not coming forward during the currently anticipated timescales, or if growth in the number of jobs leads again to the current problems of higher house prices and higher in-commuting.