Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council calls upon government to end ‘planning straitjacket’

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has called for the government to end the uncertainty about how many new homes will be built in the borough in the years to come.

The council’s new leadership, headed by leader Paul Harvey and co-leader Gavin James, criticised the “flawed and simplistic” rigid formula for calculating housing targets still being in place.

They have written to secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities Michael Gove and appealed for urgent clarity about how the area’s housing figure will be set in future.

Councillor Andy Konieczko said: “We are all agreed that the number of homes being built in Basingstoke and Deane needs to slow down so that infrastructure, facilities and services that current and new residents need can catch up.

“We need to be released from the government planning straitjacket where the housing figure for our borough is set using national formula that doesn’t consider local circumstances.”